it is disappointing to find james piereson and naomi schaefer riley embracing the <u+201c>your-money-is-our-money<u+201d> ethos regarding college endowments (<u+201c> the ivy league doesn<u+2019>t need taxpayers<u+2019> help ,<u+201d> op-ed, oct. 17). the fact that they are targeting wealthy institutions doesn<u+2019>t make their proposals any less confiscatory. and the fact that congress could exercise great leverage by threatening to withhold or renege on other transactions argues for universities to rebuff federal blandishments rather than for washington to micromanage university budgets. robin carpenter lebanon, n.h. a university endowment is not like a bank account. endowments are constrained by restrictions imposed by donors and by state laws, which typically require that endowment funds support particular activities today and in perpetuity. financial aid and teaching are among the top purposes supported by endowments. without them, universities could not sustain the cost of educating a student, which far exceeds the tuition <u+201c>sticker price<u+201d> that the wealthiest families pay. and the ivy league universities, singled out by the article, are among the most generous in using their endowments to support low- and middle-income students. the authors misleadingly describe a per-student federal <u+201c>subsidy,<u+201d> conflating funds students receive to attend college with research funding. federal research funding is not a <u+201c>subsidy,<u+201d> although campus research activities certainly benefit students, too. the authors endorse a shortsighted proposal that would selectively penalize certain charitable giving that supports activities at the heart of universities<u+2019> public missions: education, research and service. this would set a dangerous precedent for universities and for other charitable institutions. molly corbett broad president american council on education mary sue coleman president association of american universities washington the tempting part of the piereson-riley proposal is that ivy league schools function as an <u+201c>aaa<u+201d> farm system developing future democratic all-stars hillary clinton intends to push for free public-college education, a proposal that will increase federal subsidies exponentially. tinkering with private university endowment policies will feel good and be symbolic, but will also be inconsequential. glen reeves washington
university endowments aren<u+2019>t bank accounts - wsj
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