Under pressure, Harvard will turn down US coronavirus relief aid

Harvard University has announced it would reject USD 8.7 million in federal coronavirus relief. This came a day after United States President Donald Trump excoriated the wealthy Ivy League school over taxpayer money it stood to receive.

It followed similar actions at Stanford and Princeton universities, which said they too would turn down millions of dollars in federal funding amid growing scrutiny of wealthy colleges.

Officials at Harvard said the school still faces significant financial challenges due to the pandemic but would refuse the money over concerns that "intense focus by politicians" will undermine the relief programme created by Congress.

"While we understand any reallocation of these resources is a matter for the Department of Education, we hope that special consideration will be given to Massachusetts institutions that are struggling to serve their communities and meet the needs of their students through these difficult and challenging times," Harvard said in a statement.

Congress had offered USD 14 billion to the nation's colleges and universities as part of a USD 2.2 trillion rescue package.

But Trump said on Tuesday that Harvard shouldn't take its share because it has such deep financial reserves. It echoed concerns from other critics, who said Harvard doesn't need the money and can rely on its nearly USD 40 billion endowment.

Harvard had previously committed to spending its entire share on students, and on Wednesday said it was "fully committed to providing the financial support that it has promised to its students".

Stanford, which has an endowment of nearly USD 28 billion, said it told the Education Department on Monday it would refuse USD 7.4 million allocated in the package.

Officials at Princeton said they will reject USD 2.4 million in aid, but not because of the pressure from DeVos.

The University of Southern California, which had an endowment of USD 5.7 billion last year, was allotted nearly USD 20 million.

Columbia University, with an endowment of USD 11 billion, was allotted nearly USD 13 million.

The University of Notre Dame said Wednesday it also would accept its USD 5.8 million allotment and direct it all to students. The school's endowment totals USD 11.3 billion.