In Harvard University's case, the government has accused the Ivy league school ' so far without providing any specific evidence ' of violating some students' civil rights by allowing other students to engage in what the authorities characterize as antisemitic speech. The government has demanded broad oversight of Harvard's admissions policies, along with changes in its hiring processes and campus culture. Harvard stands to lose out on more than US$2.2 billion. It may seem to be better insulated from this pressure than many other schools because it has the nation's largest educational endowment ' a reservoir of stocks, bonds and other financial assets that helps fund its operations, research and scholarships. Harvard's endowment totaled more than $53 billion in 2024. As a nonprofit law scholar, who served in the Treasury Department's Office of Tax Policy in the 1980s, I study and write about both state and federal law as it applies to nonprofit organizations. I believe that the law...
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