Michael Barbaro

But at the same time, as it appears like all the momentum is heading in Harvard's way, I start to hear from folks that I'm talking to that Harvard's problems may be much bigger than just winning this legal case.

What I was coming to understand was that the court case only related to funding that the Trump administration had already frozen and that even if Harvard was to prevail in court, they would still need to get funding in the years that followed. And if they remain persona non grata with the administration, how are they going to get future federal grants for their research?

What I was coming to understand was that the court case only related to funding that the Trump administration had already frozen and that even if Harvard was to prevail in court, they would still need to get funding in the years that followed. And if they remain persona non grata with the administration, how are they going to get future federal grants for their research?

So it showed that while the court case was important, there were other consequences to being in such public opposition to the administration, which had the lever or the spigot of research money that was critical to the work that was going on at Harvard.

So it showed that while the court case was important, there were other consequences to being in such public opposition to the administration, which had the lever or the spigot of research money that was critical to the work that was going on at Harvard.

So understanding Harvard's finances is probably like a Harvard class in and of itself.

So understanding Harvard's finances is probably like a Harvard class in and of itself.

Boring one.

Boring one.

Basically, Harvard has, along with becoming a place that teaches and educates, has become a big research institution. It does work on cancer. It does work on things related to aerospace that I don't even know how to describe. It does stuff on physics and math and all the important things that we think that academia does or is supposed to do to be at the cutting edge of making our society better.

Basically, Harvard has, along with becoming a place that teaches and educates, has become a big research institution. It does work on cancer. It does work on things related to aerospace that I don't even know how to describe. It does stuff on physics and math and all the important things that we think that academia does or is supposed to do to be at the cutting edge of making our society better.

To do that work, Harvard has come to rely on grants and funding from the federal government that accounts for about half of their research budget.

To do that work, Harvard has come to rely on grants and funding from the federal government that accounts for about half of their research budget.

Billions and billions of dollars.

Billions and billions of dollars.

They can go out and raise hundreds of millions of dollars, but to come up with the whole from the federal government may even be too big for Harvard. Because while they do have all of that money in the endowment, The endowment is not a slush fund or a rainy day fund or something they can easily tap into.

They can go out and raise hundreds of millions of dollars, but to come up with the whole from the federal government may even be too big for Harvard. Because while they do have all of that money in the endowment, The endowment is not a slush fund or a rainy day fund or something they can easily tap into.

It's a more complicated thing than like, oh, wow, Harvard's got the biggest piggy bank in the country. Why don't they just go break into it? It's more complicated than that.

It's a more complicated thing than like, oh, wow, Harvard's got the biggest piggy bank in the country. Why don't they just go break into it? It's more complicated than that.

Yeah and we've heard about how other universities are trying to appeal to these researchers to say look we don't have these major questions over us. We've even heard of foreign countries like China trying to recruit some of these researchers because.