FIRST ON FOX: Amid Harvard’s battle with the Trump administration, which has already pulled billions in federal funding from the university and floated taking even more, fiscal watchdog OpenTheBooks decided to take a peek at how much money the top-tier Ivy League school actually stands to lose.
Harvard has received at least $4.4 billion in federal funding through grants, contracts, sub-grants and subcontracts since the first Trump administration in 2017, the watchdog found through open-source analysis of government spending records and other publicly available data. Meanwhile, based on these numbers, Harvard collected more in federal grants and contracts than they stood to gain through tuition, room and board in any given year.
OpenTheBooks also unearthed that Harvard’s $53.2 billion endowment has grown by $14 billion, or $2 billion annually, since 2018. In total, the top-tier Ivy League school has more than $7 million per undergraduate student, the watchdog’s report indicated.
TRUMP FROZE FUNDING FOR HARVARD. MONEY TO THESE UNIVERSITIES MAY ALSO BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
The analysis of Harvard’s finances from OpenTheBooks comes as the institution is suing the Trump administration over the freezing of its federal funds.
After refusing to comply with President Trump’s executive directives on antisemitism, DEI, viewpoint diversity and more, the Trump administration pulled $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year government contracts. The Trump administration has indicated the potential for further cuts as well if the school does not fold to the president’s demands, and is also considering stripping Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
Harvard’s lawsuit against the Trump administration sets up a fight over higher education autonomy, with the university alleging in its suits against multiple federal agencies that the Trump administration’s demands infringe on the school’s right to educate and learn free of government coercion.
Harvard University did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on this story.
“America’s university system is still the envy of the world and maintaining that advantage is a matter of national security,” OpenTheBooks CEO John Hart told Fox News Digital. “Harvard can lead the way in that process by rejecting totalitarian progressive fundamentalism and reviving America’s commitment to classical liberalism, true free speech, true science over ‘the science’ and rigorous, open debate.”
GREGG JARRETT: AMERICAN TAXPAYERS ‘SHOULDN’T PAY’ FOR HARVARD’S INDOCTRINATION, ANTISEMITISM
In addition to Harvard’s failure to comply with the president’s executive orders, the Trump administration also accused Harvard of failing to report large foreign donations, as required by law, and has opened an investigation into the matter. On Wednesday, the president signed an executive order threatening to cut off federal funding from colleges and universities that fail to disclose their sources of foreign money.
Using data that Harvard has reported to the government pertaining to its foreign donations, OpenTheBooks found that, since 2017, Harvard has accepted at least $1.1 billion in gifts or contracts from foreign sources.
The top countries contributing to Harvard are England and China, which have each given over $100 billion to Harvard over the last eight years. Per federal law, universities are required to report payments that exceed $250,000 from foreign sources.
“As a private university, they’re free to pursue any topic they like – as long as their campus stays within the confines of the Constitution – but that doesn’t automatically entitle them to our tax money,” Hart added in his comments to Fox News Digital about the Ivy League school’s finances.
“Harvard can revive its commitment to academic freedom by explaining why it’s receiving millions from China, and potentially Iran proxies, and why it’s spending tax dollars on far-Left research and race-based identity politics.”
