Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. Harvard has billions upon billions in its endowment, yet it can't pay for its PhD candidates? Why is it so reliant on the American taxpayer?

Seriously??? Is this a serious question??

This post shows an astounding lack of critical thinking, logical thinking, and creative thinking.

This mentality is apparently prevalent in our country and is causing the unfortunate downfall of the U.S.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. Harvard has billions upon billions in its endowment, yet it can't pay for its PhD candidates? Why is it so reliant on the American taxpayer?

Because they (and all R1 universities) are providing a service to the nation. If the nation doesn’t want highly creative well trained PhD students, so be it. You do know that the idea of paying to educate grad students came around post Sputnik in the National Defense Education Act?

And Harvard already spends billions from the endowment! It's the largest source of Harvard's budget.

Harvard should live Within its means. Old fashioned word not familiar in Cambridge budget. Endowment is a Pool of thousands of restrictred funds but that frees up money for other areas that are not fully funded.

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. Harvard has billions upon billions in its endowment, yet it can't pay for its PhD candidates? Why is it so reliant on the American taxpayer?

Because they (and all R1 universities) are providing a service to the nation. If the nation doesn’t want highly creative well trained PhD students, so be it. You do know that the idea of paying to educate grad students came around post Sputnik in the National Defense Education Act?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$57 billion endowment, enough.

^^^ doesn't know how endowments work

LOL just sit on the endowment and get federal money.

I am so freaking tired of this. Let’s say you were a millionaire (like Sam Walton). And I wanted to get some groceries from you because I wanted to feed my family. Should you just give me my groceries because I am so wealthy? Or do you think it’s reasonable for me to say, come to my store and buy what you want. This is how research works too. We (American people) decide research is important and a public good. We look for the best places to get it. The answer is universities (Harvard and Georgia Tech). We pay for it. We don’t get to say “use your own money to pay for this thing that I want”.

Anonymous wrote:Does this mean to sway your kid away from a PhD path in science/engineering?

If it’s happening at Harvard, does this mean it will happen everywhere?

Yes. You know the old saying, “As goes Harvard, so goes Kennesaw State.”

Anonymous wrote:Maybe Harvard can come clean and self fund. Total disgrace. Ga Tech could do a better job and be more cost efective. Disperse the money to NC State, Purdue, Ohio State etc. Harvard margins and overhead way too high.

Georgia Tech already gets more federal research money than Harvard, nearly twice as much actually.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/30/us/university-funding-research.html

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. Harvard has billions upon billions in its endowment, yet it can't pay for its PhD candidates? Why is it so reliant on the American taxpayer?

Come on. You know how an endowment works. Harvard can't just take money that's supposed to go to visiting scholars and give it to PhD candidates.

I'm confused. Harvard has billions upon billions in its endowment, yet it can't pay for its PhD candidates? Why is it so reliant on the American taxpayer?

Anonymous wrote:^There are a lot of innocent Palestinians in Gaza and Israelis that would take issue with
your biased comment about Trump.

Destruction of science research doesn't do either of those groups any good as well.

^There are a lot of innocent Palestinians in Gaza and Israelis that would take issue with
your biased comment about Trump.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe Harvard can come clean and self fund. Total disgrace. Ga Tech could do a better job and be more cost efective. Disperse the money to NC State, Purdue, Ohio State etc. Harvard margins and overhead way too high.

Trump is cutting funding for science research. Not redistributing it. Harvard’s webpage details the amazing science research they do and Trump is killing that. Shameful but just one of the many shameful things Trump does each day.

Anonymous wrote:^total myth. Harvard should educate American students instead of a large percent of internationals. They have scammed the American taxpayer for decades. What’s the cost differential for Harvard to build new labs vs buildind labs in Michigan, Texas or Indiana. Research talent like any other profession is nit Exclusive to high cost Boston area.

+1 Agree

^total myth. Harvard should educate American students instead of a large percent of internationals. They have scammed the American taxpayer for decades. What’s the cost differential for Harvard to build new labs vs buildind labs in Michigan, Texas or Indiana. Research talent like any other profession is nit Exclusive to high cost Boston area.

Anonymous wrote:Heartbreaking loss for all of us. Setting back science in ways that we can’t yet see.

Countries don't remain dominant for long periods of time. Kneecapping our scientific research is how America's global leadership ends.