A professor at a Norwegian business school has floated a proposal that Norway should buy Harvard, considering its ongoing legal conflict with the Trump administration.
Nathan Warren, a marketing professor at the BI Norwegian Business School, wrote an article published in Dagens Næringsliv, suggesting Norway should buy the Ivy League school and relocate it to the Oslo, the nation’s capital.
Warren, who is originally from Boston, Mass., told CTVNews.ca in an interview on Tuesday that growing up, he heard all about the institution.
“Harvard is the people of Harvard; it’s the institution,” he said. “And right now, there are a lot of people in that institution who don’t feel particularly welcome and supported in the United States.”
On June 4, the White House released a statement saying Trump had officially banned any international student visas at Harvard, claiming the school had seen a “dramatic rise in crime” and a “history of concerning foreign ties and radicalism.”
Warren believes a change of scenery would be beneficial for the nearly 400-year-old institution.
“If you could match the amount of resources that they’re getting right now, I think they would be delighted to be able to have the freedom and support that the Norwegian, or European structures could provide them,” he said.
The proposal
Norway has the resources and can provide the infrastructure to support the move, according to Warren. He admits that it would take some adjustment, but the Ivy League institution could certainty relocate.
“I think that there’s a good opportunity to potentially capture the greatest intellectual resource that the United States, and perhaps the world, has,” he said.
Warren points out that Norway would be the perfect fit, culturally for the institution and the students. Buying the university would also help Norway become a force in the realm of global academia and political landscapes.
The Ivy League university has been at the top of the food chain when it comes to medical research, economic innovation, climate and reform.
“It’s like a well-functioning democracy with copious amounts of money and great infrastructure, which is where universities tend to thrive,” he said.
In the latest move by the Trump administration, a letter from Paula Stannard, the U.S. Health and Human Services’ director of the Office of Civil Rights, was sent to the university, informing them of a referral made by the U.S. Department of Justice to address allegations of antisemitic discrimination.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump had showed interest in settling with the prestigious university for US$500 million in the legal fight over the slashing of its US$2.6 billion funding.
“Well, it’s a lot of money,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We’re negotiating with Harvard now. They would like to settle, so we’ll see what happens.”
In July, Columbia agreed to pay more than $220 million to restore federal funding for the school.
According to the Harvard International Office, 769 Canadian students are enrolled in the university in 2025, including Prime Minister Mark Carney’s daughter, who are all left in limbo about their future.
