Some of the richest U.S. colleges are declining another round of stimulus money that would offset the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on schools.
Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Amherst and Bowdoin are telling the U.S. Department of Education they will not accept a third round of aid allocated by Congress, according to officials at the schools.
Lawmakers set aside billions of dollars in emergency relief to help schools contend with expenses from the coronavirus-induced shutdown and offset the sharp drop in revenue and jump in other costs such as testing. But in April 2020 the aid sparked the ire of President Donald Trump, who attacked Harvard for what it would have been given. Harvard and other universities turned down the funds.
The result: Some schools, especially those with hefty endowments, refused money they were entitled to -- and are continuing to do so. That’s astute public relations, said Brian Galle, a professor of law at Georgetown University and expert on taxation.
“It’s smart not to take the money because it would look unsympathetic to be rich and taking it,” Galle said.
Yale University has declined the $17.4 million allotted to the school under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.
“The university did so with the expectation that the funds would be reallocated to other colleges and universities, ideally among institutions in Connecticut,” said Karen Peart, a spokesperson for the school, in New Haven.
