Opinion: Fundraising in academia and the Epstein problem

In the high-rolling context of academic philanthropy and fundraising, convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein made gifts to elite universities, including Harvard and MIT, that were modest in size and impact. Had his sordid crimes and recent suicide not attracted massive media attention, his gifts would likely have gone unnoticed by few beyond those directly benefiting from them.

But donations he made to the MIT Media Lab after his 2008 conviction, and revelations by The New Yorker’s investigative journalists that the Media Lab covered up key details of his philanthropy, provoked the resignation of Joi Ito, the Lab’s well-connected director, and could threaten the reputation of other university leaders pending external investigations of who knew what when.

What was the context in which events like this might occur?

Philanthropy is essential to the operating budgets and long-range planning of academic institutions. Though this might come as a surprise to some, philanthropy may be more important for the largest and most elite research-intensive institutions, despite their endowments. Their broad scope of activities