Crimson staff writer
Avani B. Rai
Latest Content
Senate Finance Committee Proposal for 8% Endowment Tax Could Cost Harvard $200 Million Per Year
The Senate Finance Committee released proposed changes to the House’s tax and spending bill that would introduce an 8 percent tax on large endowments. Down from the 21 percent rate passed by the House, the proposal would still be a sixfold hike from the 1.4 percent Harvard currently pays.
Harvard Research Cuts Halt More Than 570 Subawards to Other Institutions, Including MGB Hospitals
Harvard will cease funding more than 570 subawards for research at affiliated institutions across 32 states after cuts to federal support, according to a University spokesperson.
‘The Michael Jordan of Whatever He Did’: How Raj Chetty ’00 Reshaped Economics
Before Chetty was an economics wunderkind whose work on social mobility shot him to stardom, he was a talented undergraduate, laser-focused on his economics work — and his beloved Chicago Bulls.
How Fed Chair Ben Bernanke ’75 Discovered Economics at Harvard
As a still-undecided sophomore, Ben S. Bernanke ’75 did what hundreds of Harvard students have done for decades: enroll in Economics 10, the school’s introductory economics course sequence. The decision would launch him on his path to leading the Federal Reserve.
After a Semester of Catastrophic Federal Cuts, Researchers at Harvard Are in a ‘Survival State’
Across Harvard’s schools, researchers described a wave of destruction following sweeping terminations of federally funded grants. More than $2.7 billion in cuts have come as part of the Trump administration’s targeted pressure campaign against Harvard.
House Narrowly Passes GOP Tax Bill Targeting Harvard’s Endowment with 21 Percent Tax
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping Republican-backed tax and spending bill Thursday that would impose a 21 percent tax on Harvard’s endowment returns — the latest in a series of federal measures inflicting harsh financial penalties on the University.
Garber Establishes Presidential Priorities Fund, Calls on Alumni to Back Harvard in Fight with Trump
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 unveiled a new Presidential Priorities Fund in a Monday email and called on alumni and donors to throw their financial and political support behind the University.
Harvard Paid Claudine Gay $1.3 Million in 2023, Financial Disclosures Show
Former Harvard President Claudine Gay earned more than $1.3 million in 2023 — which spanned the end of her term as Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean and all six months of her short-lived presidency — according to the University’s annual tax disclosures.
On Harvard’s 2024 Pulse Survey, Jewish and Muslim Students Report Higher Rates of Feeling Like They Don’t Belong
As Harvard’s campus convulsed in protests over the war in Gaza, Jewish and Muslim students reported lower levels of belonging on Harvard’s latest Pulse Survey compared to their peers — even as overall student sentiment has seen modest improvement since the survey’s first iteration in 2019.
HMC Plans $1 Billion Sale of Private Equity Stakes
Harvard Management Company is planning to sell nearly $1 billion of private equity fund stakes, liquidating nearly 5 percent of its private equity portfolio amid mounting threats to the University’s finances by its critics in Washington.
Harvard Spends Record Amount on Lobbying in First Quarter of 2025 As It Fends Off Federal Threats
Harvard spent $230,000 on federal lobbying in the first quarter of 2025 — its highest quarterly total since George W. Bush’s presidency — as the University tries to fortify itself against attacks from Congress and the White House.
NIH Pauses Awards to Harvard, Other Schools With Frozen Funding
The National Institutes of Health has been instructed not to make grant payments to Harvard and other universities whose funds have been frozen, according to an internal email reported by several news outlets.
Can Harvard Use Its Endowment To Make Up For Federal Cuts? It’s Possible, but Not That Simple.
Harvard’s endowment is not a $53.2 billion pile of cash. But as the University sits on the precipice of historic financial losses, it has increasingly faced calls to draw from endowment funds to make up the difference.
Harvard Says Legal Challenges With Trump Admin Could Have ‘Adverse Effect’ in Bond Sale Disclosure
Harvard University warned investors that mounting legal challenges with the White House over its $2.2 billion federal funding freeze could materially harm the institution’s financial standing, reputation, and operations, according to a disclosure filed on Tuesday in connection with a successful bond sale.
At Grim Town Hall, Harvard Medical School Leaders Tell Staff to Expect Layoffs and Far-Reaching Cuts
Harvard Medical School leadership told employees at a town hall Wednesday morning that the school was preparing to make staffing reductions and cut programs as a result of the Trump administration’s actions against Harvard — including a $2.2 billion freeze.