According to Sarah O’Brien Mackey, Harvard’s associate director of communications for alumni affairs and development, Harvard is still just in the very early stages of discussions with Ellison.

“It’s at a very preliminary stage. There has been maybe only one conversation or so between Harvard and Ellison,” Mackey said. Mackey described Stanford’s position as “much further down the line.”

But according to both Glen and Mackey, press reports that described a competition for Ellison’s donation were misguided.

“Harvard does not see itself in competition—that was a mischaracterization,” Mackey said. “The focus is to find out what Mr. Ellison is interested in, and to see how that matches the priorities of the University.

“If it’s been setup as a competition, it’s not because Harvard has or Stanford has, it’s because Larry Ellison has,” Glen said.

Reports that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had been involved in negotiations with Ellison were wrong, according to an MIT spokesperson.

Now that both schools are aware of each other’s contacts with Ellison, they are cooperating to keep their discussions from turning into a full-fledged public competition.