Wall Street Journal reporters are generally more reliable than this. When one last July quoted Oracle boss Larry Ellison as saying “It’s absolutely going to happen” in regards to his pledged $115 million donation to Harvard, the scribe apparently did not provide the entire quotation.
It now seems as though what Ellison really said was: “It’s absolutely going to happen … unless Harvard President Lawrence Summers sticks a foot so far down his gullet that he’s forced to resign … or unless I just wake up one morning and change my mind. Otherwise, absolutely, posotootely.”
Damn press.
When reports first surfaced of Ellison reneging on the donation — originally hailed as Harvard’s largest ever — both the company and its billionaire head had nothing to tell the press. That changed yesterday when Oracle issued a statement saying that Ellison experience his change of heart upon learning that Summers would no longer be around to shepherd the project, a research center for global health.
One problem with that explanation: According to a Bloomberg report, Harvard Professor Christopher Murray, who was directly involved in the project, says Ellison had stopped talking to the university about the donation last November, four months before Summers waved his white flag and announced he’d be leaving.
“I am not sure what to make of Ellison’s remarks as he was not willing to speak with Summers on this topic despite repeated attempts,” Murray told Bloomberg.
Damn press. Always asking those nosey questions.
