[soup10]

Harvard has a 50 billion endowment, what do they need federal funds for. If they value their intellectual independence so much, then cut the cord.

[nradov]

Much of that federal funding is for research, the same as any other R1 university. We all benefit from research findings. Endowments are used for other purposes.

There are a few colleges that take no federal funding in order to maintain total independence (mostly for religious reasons). But their research output is virtually zero.

[jncfhnb]

The federal funds are for doing research that the government wants to fund, not keeping the university’s lights on. This is about terminating a productive partnership, not ending a subsidy handout to schools.

[the_snooze]

Yup, people really need to learn their history. The modern federally-funded research university system came about as a direct result of the US getting caught with their pants down after Sputnik. The government decided it's in its best strategic interests to maintain long-term investments in basic and applied research. Those aren't things you can just spin up on short notice, though it's easy to kill it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_crisis#Response

[steadfastbeef]

Yeah but money is fungible.

[malshe]

As a university professor, I agree with you. I think universities must cut the cord and be independent. The university faculty gave up the control to administrators and administrators, in turn, gave up the control to politicians.

[FabHK]

The government letter demands giving control back to tenured academics (from students, activists, and administrators).

[twright]

I think this is the common-sense response. The push back I've heard is that endowments are apportioned to specific things. That is, it's not an open piggy bank. Nevertheless, $50B is a _lot_ even if the smallest allocation is 1% of the largest that is likely on the order of tens of millions.

[somethoughts]

It'd be an interesting strategy if you could split the organization based on departments that depend heavily on federal funds (i.e. perhaps STEM fields such as medicine and physics/hard sciences, etc.) and those that are not (and perhaps simultaneously requiring more freedom of thought).

Perhaps resurrect the Radcliffe College to support the more intellectual, free thought based departments. [1]

[1] https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/about-the-institute/histor...

[op00to]

Do you have money in the bank? Do you have income? If so, you don't really need any help from the government. If you value your personal independence so much, then cut the cord.

[JohnCClarke]

I think that's what they're saying.

[legitster]

They don't. This is the federal government threatening to withhold payment for research they commissioned.

[tgma]

Next step: taxing that endowment (which is a good idea irrespective of the other demands: universities are government-subsidized tax-free hedge funds)

[nine_k]

Just consider the tax-exempt status as an indirect subsidy for research and education. I think its ROI is much higher than from any other way the government could use the uncollected amount.

[throw_m239339]

> Harvard has a 50 billion endowment, what do they need federal funds for. If they value their intellectual independence so much, then cut the cord.

I agree. Gulf monarchies will probably come in a give even more billions to these institutions anyway to make up for the losses. No strings attached of course...

Harvard probably already secured some more funding from Qatar and what not.