Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge? - Part 205

From the Harvard Crimson: Harvard is privately weighing a rapid-fire fundraising push to secure $500 million for University-wide scientific research priorities, according to two people familiar with the matter. The $500 million target has been floated internally in recent conversations, the two people said, but is not a finalized goal. The two said the University was hoping to raise the money by the end of the academic year. The short-term fundraising campaign would arrive in tandem with a sweeping University effort to rethink how Harvard will support its science and medical research in the wake of massive federal grant cuts.

Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 initiated a faculty Science Advisory Committee this summer to map out a long-term vision for scientific research, and the University set aside $150 million last week to fund cutting-edge projects. The tentative fundraising initiative mimics a successful Faculty of Arts and Sciences campaign this spring to raise $100 million for endowed Ph.D. fellowships. That campaign, launched in February, met its goal within four months, and the FAS promptly announced another $100 million challenge. The newest push appears to apply that template — short-term fundraising for targeted needs — more widely. As it stands, the University will seek fundraising support for defined scientific research occurring across Harvard, the two people said...

Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/10/9/science-fundraising/.