They have gone to court, they have gone to the media, and they have gone to Corporate America rather than loosen their own pursestrings with an endowment estimated at over $53 billion.

Harvard and its defenders claim that accessing the money creates massive complications, due to terms and conditions of the donations and the structure of the endowment itself. A new analysis from the Wall Street Journal suggests that the main complication is that a significant amount of that money may be imaginary -- and that may open a Pandora's box on Wall Street:

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) recently sought an investigation into Harvard’s financial disclosures to bondholders. She might as well have fired a bazooka at the entire private-equity industry. //

So if the SEC investigates Harvard over the valuations, it should also investigate the private-equity firms that provide them, if not the whole private-equity sector. This could be helpful. With a full-court press under way in Washington to get private-market funds, like private equity, into Americans’ 401(k) retirement plans, it’s more urgent than ever that alternative investments reflect market realities, not wishful thinking. //

The act of liquidating assets or selling stakes to raise funds for operating costs would force transparency on the true value of the endowment, and that would have a ripple effect throughout the economy. That itself might give Harvard some leverage with corporate America to kick in some cash as a donation rather than liquidate assets that might impact their own wealth estimates in the long run.