Harvard Checked Between the Couch Cushions and Found $250 Million for Research

I once found a $20 bill between the cushions of my living room couch. I was a student then, and that $20 was a  real "eureka!" moment.

I imagine that Harvard felt a similar rush of excitement upon "finding" $250 million to fund research projects slashed by the federal government as a result of the school's failure to abide by Title IX rules on equality.

"Although we cannot absorb the entire cost of the suspended or canceled federal funds, we will mobilize financial resources to support critical research activity for a transitional period as we continue to work with our researchers to identify alternative funding sources," the announcement said.

No word on where the money is coming from or what research projects it will fund. Perhaps it was buried in Harvard Yard. Wherever they found it, the jig is up: Harvard doesn't need billions of tax dollars to carry out its research.

With a $53 billion endowment, Harvard could fund every project that had its funds cut off simply by dedicating the interest on that money for research purposes. They'd never have to touch the principal.

Harvard isn't the only major university dipping into its institutional reserves to fund research. Johns Hopkins announced a program to give grants up to $150,000 to faculty members facing “unexpected federal research funding disruptions.” Northwestern University said it's covering the cost of projects that the federal government has stopped funding.

MSN:

Harvard has a $53 billion endowment and draws about 5% of its annual investment earnings to help cover campus operations. The school could increase that drawdown, but much of the endowment is made up of restricted funding that can only be used for purposes designated by donors. Last month, the school separately made plans to borrow $750 million.

To make up for the loss in federal funding, Education Secretary Linda McMahon this month suggested Harvard rely on “its colossal endowment” and raise money from wealthy alumni.

In his message, Garber said the sanctions have stopped lifesaving research and in some cases lost years of work. He said the university is committed to supporting its researchers.

“While there will undoubtedly be difficult decisions and sacrifices ahead, we know that, together, we will chart a path forward to sustain and advance Harvard’s vital research mission,” Garber wrote in his message.

Hot Air's Ed Morrissey explains that the impact of the funding cuts on actual research will be negligible because even if Harvard doesn't get a research grant for a particular project, the chances are very good that another school that follows Title IX guidelines will get it.

And that brings us to the absurdity of Harvard's lawsuit and political argument that they are entitled to federal funds as a matter of "independence." Only Ivy League administrators could define independence as reliant on subsidies from the government. Now we find out that Harvard can fund their own operations absent federal funding, in part by adjusting the million-dollar compensation of its president and the administrators and faculty. That is how independent organizations actually work. They use their own revenue to set their operational priorities and adjust either their ambitions or their other operational commitments.

Harvard doesn't want independence; they want impunity. 

Harvard's research has revolutionized the world. The question isn't whether the research projects Harvard is engaged in have changed the world for the better, because many of them have. Basic research always — always — pays off. The thousands of patents, breakthrough drugs, and other fruits of Harvard's research over the years can't be quantified.

But they didn't need billions of taxpayers' dollars to do it. That's the key part of this equation. As Morrissey points out, Harvard's problem is that they have a religious belief in their own indispensability. 

Trump is rapidly disabusing them of that ridiculous belief.

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