Harvard and MIT leaders acknowledge deeper ties to Jeffrey Epstein than previously revealed
- Harvard University received US$9 million from accused sex trafficker over the years, some of which is still in use
- At MIT, senior officials knew of gifts from Epstein and sought to ensure those donations remained anonymous
The presidents of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology acknowledged in separate announcements this week their connections to financier Jeffrey Epstein went deeper than previously revealed, further entangling the elite institutions with a donor who was a convicted sex offender.
Harvard officials revealed that the university had accepted about US$9 million in donations from Epstein between 1998 and 2007, and announced intentions to redirect some of the unspent money to organisations helping victims of trafficking and sexual assault.
At MIT, senior officials knew of gifts from Epstein and sought to ensure those donations remained anonymous, the school’s president, L Rafael Reif, wrote in a letter to campus. Reif also said an investigation had turned up a 2012 letter signed by Reif thanking Epstein for a donation.
The revelations raised questions from faculty, students and the public about how some of the world’s most admired institutions raise money and whether the school’s leaders are appropriately transparent about relationships with major donors.
In a letter to the campus on Thursday, Harvard President Lawrence Bacow said the school rejected a donation offered by Epstein after 2008, the year when Epstein was convicted on sex charges. Bacow wrote that a review has not found gifts accepted after Epstein’s conviction.
