John Paulson is giving $400 million to Harvard University for the Engineering school. What, if anything, does this mean for MIT?

It doesn’t mean much for MIT. The funding is to expand the department into Allston, and help its growth as the next big department at Harvard. So there may be some competition for professors. But right now it means people who can’t get into MIT can try Harvard.

I’m sure there are VPs from MIT out shmoozing the fat cats already.

I just sent your question to my cousin. He earned his PhD from MIT in Engineering and lives part time in the Boston area, so it will be interesting to hear what he says about it. I’ll let you know as soon as he responds.

Last time I looked, MIT has an endowment of almost 13 Billion.
400 M is a drop in the bucket.

@Pied_Pfeffer
I’ll be interested to hear.

Harvard’s endowment is over $36 Billion.

I don’t think it takes anything away from MIT in terms of prestige regarding their engineering program. It will still be a great school sought after by many students. Just like there is Stanford, Harvard, and Penn for business, there is room for more than one.