Donations to Harvard University fell 14 per cent in the fiscal year ending June 30, as large donors cut ties and prominent alumni in the financial industry criticised its administration over a botched response to protests around the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Overall gifts to the western world’s wealthiest university dropped to $896mn from $1.05bn a year ago, as outrage over campus protests led to the resignation of president Claudine Gay.
The drop came exclusively in donations to the university’s endowment, where the very largest gifts tend to be concentrated. Those gifts fell by one-third, while donations to the operating fund, which covers day-to-day expenses, rose 9 per cent year on year to $528mn.