A students walks past a display on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 27. Sophie Park / Bloomberg / Getty Images
First on CNN: More than 12,000 Harvard alumni unite to support university legal challenge
By Betsy Klein, CNN, 4 minute read, Published 1:13 PM EDT, Mon June 9, 2025
CNN — Thousands of Harvard University alumni have signed on to a legal message of support for their alma mater, CNN has learned, an unprecedented effort to back the school as it challenges the Trump administration’s decision to halt more than $2.2 billion in federal funding.
More than 12,000 Harvard alumni – from the class of 1950 to the just-graduated class of 2025 – added their signatures to an amicus brief, a legal document sent by a third party to a lawsuit offering the court additional information about the case. The brief, first reported by CNN, was submitted to the court on Monday.
The signatories come from a range of backgrounds, united by a Harvard degree and concern for the future of their alma mater: a Wisconsin beer brewer, comedian Conan O’Brien, an Ohio fighter pilot, author Margaret Atwood, a South Dakota tribal leader and Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healy, among other prominent members of communities across the country and globe.
The group claims it’s the largest known alumni brief from a single school in history.
