Lost in the hullabaloo over the recent Vanity Fair profile on Sarah Palin and her subsequent, if unrelated, resignation was the magazine's article "Rich Harvard, Poor Harvard" by Nina Munk. The spread chronicles the massive expansion of Harvard's wealth, which grew from $4.8 billion in 1990 to $36.9 billion and the rapid pace Harvard opened new buildings. But since October the endowment has lost $8 billion dollars, with President Faust warning it could lose as much as $11 billion by the end of fiscal 2008. Now trash cans overflow, shuttles are fewer, and athletes have to suffer through continental breakfasts.

"Rich Harvard, Poor Harvard" is full of blind quotes pointing fingers at which administrator screwed which pooch. No matter who is responsible, though, one thing is clear:

"They are completely fucked."

To find out just how fucked Harvard is you have to buy the August edition of Vanity Fair. That is, unless you read our recap after the jump.

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Last week, Harvard President Drew Faust sent out a university-wide email detailing to what extent the school of swank would be impacted by the global economic crisis. In short, Harvard "has weathered many storms" (read: "has lined their pockets well") but will suffer some set-backs in coming months. The fortune few will ride this one out with some paycuts and constraints. According to Dr. Faust:

Harvard is not invulnerable to the seismic financial shocks in the larger world. Our own economic landscape has been significantly altered. We will need to plan and act in ways that reflect that reality, to assure that we continue to advance our priorities for teaching, research, and service.

Thank God: Harvard is going to focus on teaching and research again. For a second, it looked like the nation's oldest institute of higher learning just enabled psychopaths and racial profilers. The announcement from President Faust, Larry Summer's replacement in Massachusetts Hall, sounds less like a policy shift than it does a PR stunt. Just 6 weeks ago, the Harvard Management Corporation (HMC), a bunch of suits who control the fate of the universe—err, the endowment—announced 8.6% growth on Harvard's already gargantuan $36.9 billion portfolio as Standard & Poor's lost 3.6%.  Break out the $100-bill-scented tissues.

While the next Dear "John Harvard" letter from the HMC isn't due until next summer, Harvard shows no signs of tightening the belt so far.  In her letter, President Faust emboldened the college's commitment to providing full rides to students whose families earn less than $60,000 per year. Meanwhile, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government just shelled out $10 million for a program to train emerging leaders from developing countries. [Insert: "Not so evil after all" comment here.]

Read Faust's letter in full along with some sob-stories about poor, jobless HBS grads after the break.

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Larry Summers' amusing habit of antagonizing Harvard's African-American Studies Department is no more. Drew Faust has hired back Marcyliena Morgan, a scholar of hip-hop culture, along with her husband, Lawrence D. Bobo, a prominent sociologist.

The pair had left Harvard for Stanford after our friend Larry overrode the unanimous vote of the African-American Studies Department to grant Morgan tenure. Still, Summers had a strong case: Morgan had published just a single book and her classes received lukewarm reviews from students.

According to the Crimson, Faust made a personal appeal to the couple, and the African American Studies Department "wooed the pair this summer over dinners in Cambridge and Martha's Vineyard." Incredible! That's the same way Yale got Young Jeezy to lecture!

Morgan is the proud author of shining pseudo-scholarship such as this:

"Much more than CNN, hiphop brought back the search for reality and truth within a modern, highly advanced world of ideas, technology and modes of communication. For many youth, hiphop conducts its real business in the counter public where it is actualized through a central edict that is constantly repeated and reframed: represent, recognize and come correct."

Sometimes, especially if it's a cold, lonely night, I look at the moon and think I can hear the ghost of Larry Summers, howling in pain as Drew Faust, Spawn of Satan, undoes all his finest work.