Bill Ackman (Trades, Portfolio)'s not letting up. The Pershing Square boss just lit another fire under Harvard Corp., calling for the entire board to resign. Why? In his view, they've overseen the slow-motion collapse of a once-revered institution. He blasted the university's leadership on X, saying only a total overhaul can fix what's broken. This follows fresh allegations from conservative activist Christopher Rufo, who claims Harvard may have crossed legal lines with race-based hiring—a claim that's landed right as the school wrestles with the U.S. government over frozen federal funding.
The spotlight now shifts to Penny Pritzker, chair of the Harvard Corp. and former U.S. Commerce Secretary. Ackman's made her the new face of Harvard's dysfunction—accusing her of mismanaging finances, botching relations with D.C., and letting antisemitism fester on campus. His campaign already helped oust former president Claudine Gay. But even with Alan Garber now leading the school, Ackman says nothing meaningful will change unless the board—loaded with finance and pharma heavyweights like KKR & Co. (KKR, Financial) co-CEO Joseph Bae and former Merck (MRK, Financial) CEO Kenneth Frazier—steps down.
This isn't just ivory tower drama. Harvard's endowment, its ties to powerful public companies, and its increasingly politicized brand could become collateral damage. Investors may start paying closer attention to how boardroom reputations, governance standards, and elite institutions intersect—especially when a high-profile activist like Ackman brings the heat.
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