"There are some things even in today's world, even if economists say you can put a price on everything, that I couldn't [put a price on]. I can only say that if there is a price to rename Harvard, I haven't thought of it," he says.
But other faculty and administrators aren't as sure about the lack of possibilities for renaming the University.
Some faculty think that nothing could change the marketability of Harvard University, even changing its name.
"If Bill Gates wanted to double the endowment in exchange for naming it Harvard-Gates University, I'd take it. It would be like taking money for nothing really," says outgoing Dean of Undergraduate Education David Pillbeam.
Bill Gates, a member of the class of 1977 and the richest person in the nation, did not respond to repeated e-mails and faxes.
Georgia N. Alexakis, Caitlin E. Anderson, Andrew S. Chang, Matthew W. Granade, Adam S. Hickey, Justin D. Lerer, Karen M. Paik and Elizabeth S. Zuckerman and all members of the CICHPA took time from working on real articles to contribute to the reporting of this "story."