Question
What did Harvard do after the Epstein donation scandal became public?
Answer
Harvard accepted approximately $9 million in donations from Jeffrey Epstein between 1998 and 2007. The donations funded several programs and provided Epstein with an “Associate” affiliation to Harvard’s Program for Evolutionary Dynamics.
When the full extent of the relationship became public following Epstein’s 2019 arrest and subsequent revelations, Harvard faced intense criticism for:
- Continuing to accept his money after his 2008 sex offender conviction
- Providing him with an institutional affiliation that he used as a social credential
- Not proactively returning the money or acknowledging concerns when other institutions did
Harvard’s Response:
President Lawrence Bacow issued a statement acknowledging that Harvard “should have ended its association with Epstein years earlier” than it did. Harvard commissioned an internal review to examine the nature of the relationships, the decision-making process for accepting donations, and what changes should be made.
The review found that individual professors and program leaders had often made decisions about accepting Epstein’s involvement or funding without institution-level oversight that would have flagged his criminal background.
Policy Changes: Following the review, Harvard updated its donor vetting policies to require:
- More thorough background checks on major donors
- Institutional-level approval for donors with criminal histories
- Clear protocols for evaluating donations where reputational risk is identified
What Harvard Didn’t Do: Harvard did not return the Epstein donations (as MIT did with its Epstein-related funds). Critics argued that keeping the money while issuing apologies was insufficiently accountable.
Collectively, the university’s response was more verbal than substantive compared to some peer institutions.
Sources
Harvard internal review report; President Bacow’s public statement; MIT comparison (MIT returned approximately $800,000 and commissioned the Goodwin Procter review); journalism on academic Epstein relationships.