Kirk Carapazza

The letter says the administration is weaponizing anti-Semitism as a way to target Harvard and other schools.

Professor Steven Levitsky teaches government and helped organize the letter.

He says the group opposes what he calls a broader authoritarian project.

The professors are demanding the Justice Department drop its lawsuit.

For NPR News, I'm Kirk Carapazza in Boston.

Harvard says Summers will retire from his academic and faculty appointments at the end of the school year and remain on leave until then.

He won't teach or take on any new students to advise.

Harvard senior Jessica Wong says that's welcome news.

Summers is also resigning from his role leading the Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Business and Government.

In a statement, he says his decision to leave was difficult, and he's grateful to the students and colleagues he's worked with.

For NPR News, I'm Kirk Carapazza in Boston.

The report from PEN America finds state laws, federal investigations, and executive orders from President Trump have silenced students, professors, and college presidents.

PEN America's Amy Reid says the Trump administration has weaponized government power to coerce colleges into meeting its ideological demands.

The report also finds that more than half of U.S.

college students now study in a state with at least one law or policy restricting what can be taught or how campuses can operate.

For NPR News, I'm Kirk Tarapesa in Boston.

The administration is challenging Boston federal judge Alison Burroughs' September decision that found the government had tried to strong-arm Harvard into adopting certain admissions and hiring reforms, using concerns about anti-Semitism as a smokescreen.

The administration had also threatened to end Harvard's tax-exempt status and its ability to enroll international students.

A Harvard spokesperson says the university is confident the appeals court

will affirm Burroughs' ruling, which reinstated, quote, critical research funding that advances science and life-saving medical breakthroughs that strengthen national security and the country's global competitiveness.