Camas resident Anna Miller takes a deep dive into Harvard’s finances and their connections with foreign governments

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and may not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

Harvard University is getting a good spanking for allowing antisemitic mob behavior on campus. Additionally, they are continuing to run amuck by allowing DEI policies to seep into every classroom and department.

President Trump has taken strong measures. The Trump administration has frozen more than $2.2 billion (our taxpayers’ dollars) in grants to Harvard and has threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status. Harvard’s tax-exempt status allows it to avoid taxes on its endowment growth, which is worth 53 billion. If revoked, the university would pay taxes on these earnings.

Harvard’s top administrators are howling.

I decided to do a deep dive into their finances and their connections with foreign governments.

First let’s look at the salaries and benefits of the top administrators and professors in 2023-2024.

• The average faculty salary across all academic ranks is $211,924.
• Professors earn an average of $275,986, while associate professors make $173,985, and assistant professors earn $155,862.
• Harvard’s President earned $1,333,866, plus additional benefits.

Let’s break down those “additional benefits.”

• Harvard’s President, Lawrence S. Bacow, earned $2.9 million in total compensation for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which included a bonus and incentive payment of $1.4 million.
• His additional benefits amounted to $176,683, which primarily covered the value of his university-provided residence, Elmwood.
• The provost (the chief academic officer) received $884,365.
• The Dean of Harvard Medical School earned $931,184.
• Other high-ranking officials, like the vice president for finance, had salaries around $630,779.

The Department of Education has recently demanded that Harvard disclose all foreign funding sources, citing concerns about foreign influence on American universities. Why?

• Harvard has received over $1.4 billion in funding from foreign sources over the past decade.
• China has donated approximately $150 million.
• Middle Eastern governments donate to Harvard, much of which is not publicly disclosed. These funds include contracts, gifts, and grants.
• A significant funding source is from foreign student’s tuition.
• Recently, Harvard has faced financial setbacks due to its handling of antisemitism on campus, with a reported $150 million drop in donations.

What are just some of the ways in which Harvard engages with Middle Eastern governments that are hostile to America and Israel?

• Through Harvard’s Middle East Initiative (MEI) they collaborate with Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies
• In 2025, Harvard hosted the Pakistan Conference, a student-led event.
• A U.S. House panel is investigating whether Harvard researchers conducted projects funded by the Iranian National Science Foundation, which is controlled by the Iranian government and subject to U.S. sanctions.
• Recently, Harvard decided to freeze a research partnership with Birzeit University, a Palestinian institution in the West Bank, following public pressure.
• A U.S. House panel has scrutinized Harvard’s handling of pro-Palestinian activism on campus and violence against Jewish students.
• Harvard released an internal report in April 2025 having to admit the intense campus hostility toward Jewish students. A federal judge ruled that Harvard must face a lawsuit over antisemitism on campus.

Harvard has been a “bad actor” for many years which has caught up with them. They have contributed to making America less safe. Harvard’s gatekeepers deserve a lesson in humility and a civics lesson in what it means to be American.

Anna Miller
Camas

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