News of Harvard’s investment performance came as the administration was in contract negotiations with the Harvard Graduate Students Union, which represents about 4,500 student workers who teach and do research. Eight months of talks ended Monday with a tentative four-year deal that includes a raise of 5% this year.
Aparna Gopalan, 26, a Harvard graduate student in anthropology and a union organizer, said the school’s gains and the sheer size of the endowment justified the pay increase. She earns about $2,200 a month, excluding summer, teaching two classes per semester.
“It’s where they should have started,” Gopalan said of the agreement. “Harvard has already achieved an endowment that will enable them to exist forever.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.