The Naval ROTC program will return to Harvard's Cambridge campus after the military does away with “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” the Boston Globe reported.

Harvard president Drew Faust and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus signed an agreement Friday reestablishing the program.

The ivy league school expelled the military program from its campus roughly 40 years ago. The initial ban was a Vietnam War protest, but the policy remained in place over the military's prohibition of gay and bisexual troops serving openly.

“Our renewed relationship affirms the vital role that the members of our armed forces play in serving the nation and securing our freedoms,” Faust said at Friday's signing ceremony.

“At the same time, our renewed relationship affirms the commitment embodied in Congress' historic December vote to achieve greater inclusiveness within the ranks of the military.”

The Naval ROTC will return to Harvard on the effective date of repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”

The historic bill approved last year by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama says the military's ban will end when its leaders and the president agree that it is ready for the change.

The Pentagon has begun preparing for the policy's end, but leaders have only said they hope to lift the policy before the end of the year.

The agreement signed by Faust extends only to the Naval ROTC. Discussions to bring other branches of the military back to Harvard are also underway.

Outside the hall where the agreement was being signed, about 15 Harvard students chanted “No ROTC without trans-equality” in protest of the military's continued ban on transgender people.

The White House praised the agreement.

“The decision by Harvard University to formally welcome the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps to its campus is an important step in moving past the old divisions that often kept many Americans from seeing what we share with one another, including love of country and a profound respect for our brave men and women in uniform,’’ White House press secretary Jay Carney said yesterday in a statement.

“With our nation at war, this sends a powerful message that Americans stand united and that our colleges, society, and armed forces are stronger when we honor the contributions of all our citizens, especially our troops and military families who sacrifice for our freedoms.’’