University Blues

Harvard doesn't need the money:

For 2024, Harvard operated with a surplus of $45 million, with its revenue base of $6.5 billion, according to its 2023-2024 financial report. Most of the university’s top administrators and even some faculty earn more than $400,000, while some are paid more than $1 million, according to the university’s most recent publicly available IRS filing. The financial report says that 41% of its expenses went to wages and salaries, while 11% went to benefits. “Compensation, or people, expenses—including salaries, wages, and benefits—accounted for over half of the university’s total operating costs in fiscal year 2024, with salaries and wages increasing by 9%, or $211 million, to $2.6 billion,” the 2023-2024 report says. The university’s endowment stands at $53.2 billion, an increase of $2.5 billion from the previous year, according to the financial report. Donations to the endowment during 2024 reached $368 million.

They don't need to beg...