Internal MIT review shows university made ‘significant mistakes in judgment’ on Epstein donations

An internal review conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) into donations it accepted from disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein found “significant mistakes of judgment in deciding to accept” the money.

The findings were laid out in a report released Friday that was conducted by the law firm Goodwin Procter at MIT’s request.

The review absolved leaders of the university of wrongdoing but noted that some of the top administrators had made “significant errors in judgment that resulted in serious damage to the M.I.T. community” in allowing MIT to accept donations from Epstein totaling $850,000 between 2002 and 2017.

Epstein died in August after committing suicide in a New York jail while awaiting sentencing on federal allegations of sex trafficking. He had also been convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor for prostitution and had to register as a sex offender. 

Among the donations were funds given to MIT’s Media Lab and mechanical engineering Prof. Seth Lloyd, who was placed on administrative leave after the report said he failed to inform the school that he had received two donations from Epstein.

The Media Lab’s director, Joichi Ito, resigned in September. 

The investigation found that administrators should have considered if accepting the donations was appropriate and in line with the university’s values.