Massachusetts Institute of Technology President L. Rafael Reif issued an open letter regarding the Cambridge, Mass.-based university's relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a registered sex offender.
"To my great regret, despite following the processes that have served MIT well for many years, in this instance we made a mistake of judgment," Mr. Reif wrote in the letter.
MIT received about $800,000 through foundations controlled by Mr. Epstein, according to the letter. So, Mr. Reif announced that MIT will donate "an amount equal to the funds MIT received from any Epstein foundation to an appropriate charity that benefits his victims or other victims of sexual abuse."
As a result, the MIT president has asked the school's provost Marty Schmidt to form a group to review the school's current process of accepting donations and investigate "the facts around the Epstein donations and identify any lessons for the future."
MIT's endowment has $16.4 billion in assets.
Mr. Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York on Aug. 10, awaiting trial on federal charges of operating a sex trafficking ring. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida state charges of prostitution, one involving a minor, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Mr. Reif also apologized to Mr. Epstein's victims on behalf of the school's administration. "With hindsight, we recognize with shame and distress that we allowed MIT to contribute to the elevation of his reputation, which in turn served to distract from his horrifying acts," he wrote. "No apology can undo that."
