https://www.nysun.com/article/harvard-in-a-dramatic-development-as-antisemitism-engulfs-the-university-asks-bay-state-taxpayers-for-a-bailout?
Should the state of Massachusetts issue up to $2 billion in tax-exempt bonds to help Harvard build a new building for its economics department, renovate dormitories, and modernize the medical school dean’s office?
That is the question the board of the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency will consider in a teleconference scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on March 12, according to a hearing notice issued Monday.
That it’s even under consideration shows the pressure Harvard is under. When the university was in stronger shape, it relied on private donors to fund new buildings, or renovate old ones, voluntarily.
Now, with several large donors reportedly having cut ties to Harvard or “paused” giving because of concerns about Harvard’s maladroit response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack, the university is increasingly turning to the lender of last resort, the government.
The notice makes it sound like Harvard is seeking to borrow money for at least some projects that are already well under way, a reversal of the standard sequence for financing construction. It mentions “renovation of the Adams House undergraduate housing project.” Yet the university announced in September 2023 “the completion of the second phase of Adams House renewal,” declaring that “the third and final phase…is currently underway.”
It also mentions “renovation of Gordon Hall, a Harvard Medical School administration building.” Yet the 2023 medical school dean’s report said, “construction has begun on transforming the Gordon Hall of Medicine, our signature campus building, into a flexible co-working space. This design will create a positive work community for our administrative units.”