Under Trump's Pressure, Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton Universities Finally Decide Not to Accept Government Funding

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Harvard University, Stanford University, and Princeton University, Ivy League schools in the United States, have decided not to accept federal education support funds provided in response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), according to reports by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others on the 22nd (local time). This decision came just one day after U.S. President Donald Trump pressured Harvard University to return the funds.

According to the reports, Harvard University stated in a press release that it "will not accept higher education institution support funds under the CARES Act." Harvard explained, "Like other institutions, we have acknowledged that we will face serious financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis," but added, "However, the political focus on Harvard related to this program could undermine the efforts of Congress."

Until the day before, Harvard had initially planned to accept the funds. Harvard was scheduled to receive $8.6 million (approximately 1.06 billion KRW) as part of the higher education institution support funds. Despite President Trump's pressure during a White House briefing the previous day, stating, "Government funds are for workers, not for the wealthiest foundations in the world," Harvard responded by saying it would use 100% of the funds to support students.

However, as negative views continued regarding Ivy League universities holding tens of billions of dollars in endowments receiving the funds, it appears that Harvard ultimately decided to return the funds. Fox News, a conservative pro-Trump media outlet, reported, "Harvard is the wealthiest university in the United States," questioning, "Why did it receive $9 million through taxpayer assistance?" According to The Harvard Crimson, Harvard's endowment totaled $40.9 billion last year.

Along with Harvard, Stanford University and Princeton University also announced through similar statements that they would not accept the education support funds. However, CNN reported that Cornell University and Columbia University, which were allocated the largest amounts of support funds, have not yet expressed an intention to decline. Both universities are scheduled to receive $12.8 million each in education support funds.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.