Harvard University says it has not applied for or received federal funds intended for small businesses during the COVID pandemic but has received other funds earmarked for U.S. colleges and universities.

"Harvard did not apply for, nor has it received any funds through the U.S. Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small businesses. Reports saying otherwise are inaccurate," the university tweeted Tuesday amid a storm of controversy over the school taking taxpayer money while it operates a $40.9 billion endowment.

"Like most colleges and universities, Harvard has been allocated funds as part of the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund," the university's official account tweeted.

"By federal formula laid out in the CARES Act, Harvard was allocated $8.6 million, with 50% of those funds to be reserved for grants to students. Harvard will actually allocate 100% of the funds to financial assistance for students."

News erupted on social media that Harvard — which has the largest endowment of all U.S. universities — received $8.6 million in public funds for COVID-19 related disruption.

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Harvard Makes Cutbacks Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Thousands of people tweeted that Harvard was a privileged institution with ample funding and should not be granted or accept any public funding. President Donald Trump, other politicians and notable Harvard alumni also contributed to the issue.

"Harvard should give back the money now. Their whole 'endowment' system should be looked at!" tweeted Trump. In a daily COVID press conference, he said, "I want Harvard to pay the money back, OK? If they won't do that, then we won't do something else."

"President Trump is right," Harvard responded, "that it would not have been appropriate for our institution to receive funds that were designated for struggling small businesses."

A defender of Harvard pointed to the university's needs-blind admissions policy, which admits students on merit and ensures their education funding.

"So they should spend down the endowment instead?" tweeted writer S.V. Date. "And then what? Offer fewer scholarships to poor families? Because Harvard does quite a lot of that. Further, the money they got was specifically for colleges to help students. It wasn't PPP money."

Other Ivy League institutions — nicknamed for being long-established in higher education and selectivity — are receiving similar funding. Yale was allocated $6.8 million, while Cornell and Columbia universities, both in New York, are getting $12.8 million each. Yale's endowment is $30 billion. Cornell has an endowment of $7.3 billion; Columbia's endowment is $10.9 billion.

The federal Department of Education, which released $6 billion for colleges and universities "to provide direct emergency cash grants to students" less than a month ago, added $6.2 billion more "to ensure learning continues," the department said Tuesday.

"The funding is available through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump," the education department said in a release Tuesday.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.