Harvard bilionaire investor alum says school's entire board needs to resign

SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. Bill Ackman called for the resignation of the entire board of the Harvard Corp., the powerful body that oversees the school, claiming that "they are presiding over the destruction of this once great institution."

The billionaire investor, who's been highly critical of his alma mater for its response to antisemitism on campus over the past 18 months, posted on X that "only new leadership can fix this mess."

Ackman cited a recently published article by conservative activist Christopher Rufo titled "Inside Harvard's Discrimination Machine," which cited documents alleging Harvard was potentially violating civil rights law by adopting race-conscious hiring. The article hit as the oldest and richest US university is locked in a high-stakes fight with the US government, with Harvard accusing the Trump administration of threatening academic freedom after the White House froze billions of dollars of federal funding to the school.

The Pershing Square Capital Management founder led a successul campaign to oust former Harvard president Claudine Gay for her response to protests against Israel and campus antisemitism after Hamas attacked the Jewish state, sparking war in Gaza, and for allegations of plagiarism. His critique of Harvard included diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which he said fostered antisemitism.

Gay, the university's first Black president, resigned at the start of last year and has been replaced by Alan Garber, who has sought to tackle antisemitism on campus but also been at the forefront of battling the Trump administration, which has attacked Harvard for failing to protect Jewish students.

Ackman has since focused his ire on Penny Pritzker, a former US Commerce Secretary who leads the Harvard Corp. accusing her of mismanaging the university, including its finances and relationship with the government.

The board is also comprised of figures from finance, industry and academia, including KKR & Co. Co-CEO Joseph Bae and Kenneth Frazier, the former chief executive officer of Merck & Co.,