BOSTON — Harvard University officially welcomed the ROTC back to the nation’s oldest college Friday as eyes turned to other elite campuses that also are considering lifting their bans now that Congress has voted to allow gays to serve openly in the military.
Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus signed an agreement that establishes the Naval ROTC’s formal presence on campus for the first time since the Vietnam War era. Other campuses, including Columbia and Yale, are discussing whether to follow suit.
“Over decades, and in their own distinctive ways, both the American military and higher education have been engines of inclusion and wellsprings of service,” Faust said during the ceremony. “The relationship we renew today marks progress in that common pursuit.”
ROTC first exited Harvard amid anti-Vietnam War sentiment, and the school lately kept it off campus and stopped funding the program because of the military policy on gays.
But Faust said she had worked toward ROTC’s return after Congress repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in December.
Mabus commended Harvard at the ceremony for being “willing to step out and lead.” He said the move re-establishes old ties and helps the military recruit a diverse force.
A handful of students from the Trans Task Force, a student group that advocates for transgender students, protested outside the ceremony. They complained that the military’s repeal didn’t include transgender people and said that should violate Harvard’s nondiscrimination policy.
Under the agreement with the Navy, a director of Naval ROTC at Harvard will be appointed, and the university will resume funding the program. The program also will be given office space and access to athletic fields and classrooms.
Harvard cadets will train, as they have for years, as part of a consortium based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also in Cambridge. Currently, 20 Harvard students participate in ROTC, including 10 involved in Naval ROTC.
