Harvard University's $51 billion endowment sought to reassure Silicon Valley leaders following the university's response to the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by meeting with deep-pocketed investors.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, executives at Harvard Management Company, which oversees the country's largest college fund, met with three Silicon Valley companies in Northern California: Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins and Andreessen Horowitz.
In addition to meeting companies in the technology center, they also met with Elad Gil, an Israeli-born investor, and Patrick Collison, CEO of payments company Stripe. Harvard is a direct investor in Stripe.
Both Gil and Collison have been outspoken against the Ivy League university following former President Claudine Gay's congressional testimony, which sparked fierce national criticism over the university's position on anti-Semitism on campus.
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Harvard Gates and Dr. Claudine Gay split the picture (Getty Images)
In an X post from December 6, Collison wrote that was “shocked” by the “embarrassingly evasive” responses of the presidents of MIT, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania during the congressional hearing on anti-Semitism on their campuses.
“I was surprised by the refusal to condemn calls for genocide during yesterday's congressional testimony by the presidents of MIT, Harvard, and Penn. I ended up watching a few hours of the hearing, and the responses were embarrassingly evasive and equivocal throughout. “Collison said. “As a student (albeit fleeting) of the first of those institutions, it seems that something is very broken.”
A video monitor truck drives through the neighborhood of the president's home at Harvard University on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned from her leadership position after plagiarism and anti-Semitism scandals. (Hans Pennink for Fox News Digital)
At the meetings, the WSJ reported that Harvard representatives attempted to rebuild relationships and assure investors that the university is prioritizing student safety and free speech.
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“HMC is fortunate to have strong, long-standing relationships with many investment managers who care deeply about higher education,” Harvard spokesman Patrick McKiernan told the WSJ. “It is important to collaborate with our partners and share with them all the ways Harvard is actively working to ensure student safety and protect freedom of expression.”
People walk through the gate of Harvard Yard on the Harvard University campus on June 29, 2023 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Getty Images)
Gay's resignation has eased the concerns of some managers, the WSJ said.
Private equity executive Paul Finnegan, chairman of the fund and a member of the 12-person Harvard Corporation that governs the university, said the university was aware of criticism that its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives had gone too far in recent years. last years.
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HMC executives also said that with the increased prevalence of DEI on campus, they were aware that some students and faculty felt they had to censor themselves.
Executives said Harvard was studying changing policies to accommodate greater academic freedom and speech, the WSJ reported.
Bill Ackman sent a letter to former President Claudine Gay on November 4 following her congressional testimony. (Chris Ratcliffe/Michael Fein/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The pressure on Harvard money managers came after Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel.
Investors, concerned about what they saw as Harvard's lackluster response to the attacks and anti-Semitism under Gay, have led donors to withdraw support from the university.
Billionaire Bill Ackman He sent a lengthy letter to the former president of his alma mater, about anti-Semitism on campus, and shared it publicly on social media.
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“I write this letter to you with regret,” Ackman posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on November 4.
The hedge fund manager criticized former Harvard president Gay for sending “a clear message that eliminationists and antisemitic statements of protesters are allowed on campus.”
Harvard did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital.
