Charles Finch

I won't post much more on this subject, but since I already have twice it's worth following up with the new information that Stanford, which in comparison with Yale has roughly $5 billion less in its endowment and a third more students, has now pledged never to charge tuition fees for anyone whose family makes less than $100,000 a year. I applaud them for it. Any time news like this breaks, as it seems to pretty often now that universities have begun to understand how bad their financial aid policies look, my alma mater falls in both the public's esteem and my own. Meanwhile we have to read about Yale's president angling after money in the New Yorker.

One of Schwarzman’s most controversial proposed gifts was to Yale, his alma mater, which, during the late nineties, agreed to name the freshman dining commons after Schwarzman in return for $17 million. Some people at Yale thought the commitment was in hand, but it emerged that Schwarzman’s gift would actually be a contribution to one of Blackstone’s investment partnerships on Yale’s behalf. No money would change hands until the fund was liquidated, and there was a risk that the investment might be worth far less than $17 million (although there was also the possibility that it would be worth more). Yale balked at trading a significant naming opportunity for what it considered a speculative commitment, and Schwarzman did not give the money. (The naming opportunity remains.)

The president of Yale, Richard C. Levin, won’t discuss the incident other than to say, “We’re still good friends.” He points out that Schwarzman has raised money for Yale as a member of the executive committee of the current fund-raising campaign and was co-chair of the New York region during the previous one. “He’s been supportive and enthusiastic.” Yale, of course, is hoping for generosity in the future. Levin says, “Now that he’s reached a new level of liquidity, we hope that he’ll become a world-class philanthropist.”

Has the dignity of Levin's office fallen so far that even with $22 billion in hand they prospect some minor titan's liquidity as if it were the Sacramento River during the Gold Rush?