A US academic, later embroiled in a controversy of his own, acted in a personal capacity when he approached Jeffrey Epstein about possible funding connected to a proposed role at the University of Otago.
Emails released as part of the Epstein files show US physicist Dr Lawrence Krauss corresponding directly with Epstein in 2012 about potential private funding, while separately holding exploratory discussions with senior University of Otago staff about possible academic positions for himself and his partner, Dr Nancy Dahl-Tacconi.
A University of Otago spokesperson told the Herald the university was not told Epstein was a proposed funder, had no direct contact with him, and only learned of Krauss’ approach to Epstein after the documents were released.
“The university has only learned since the release of these documents, that during these discussions, Dr Krauss, acting in a personal capacity – and not on behalf of the University of Otago – approached Epstein about possible funding,” the spokesperson said.
“No funding was received by the university. At no point was the University of Otago told that Epstein was a proposed funder, nor did the university have any direct contact with him.”
The spokesperson said the emails related to “exploratory only” discussions in 2012 that “did not progress”.
Neither Krauss nor Dahl-Tacconi were employed by the university and “no ongoing relationship resulted from the correspondence”, the spokesperson said.
The released emails show Krauss discussing a possible move to New Zealand and privately seeking support from Epstein while negotiations with Otago were still uncertain.
In a November 2012 email to Epstein, Krauss described New Zealand as “a great place to have a retreat once a year or so with a bunch of interesting people to explore interesting questions”, and said he had hoped to convince Epstein the proposal would be “win-win”.
He wrote that he believed Epstein might also be persuaded that “the strategic research programs [sic] that Nancy would foster there would also be worthwhile … or at least worth the $250K or so investment from you on spec”.
Epstein responded that he was not supportive of the proposal, writing: “re new zealand [sic], I can’t get behind it.”
Separate correspondence between Krauss and then vice-chancellor professor Harlene Hayne shows Krauss proposing that private funding (without naming a funder) could help support academic positions at Otago for a limited period.
In an October 2012 email, Krauss said “it is possible a foundation here will be interested in providing up to $250K USD [$416k] per year, for perhaps 2 years”, to support part of his salary and research, as well as a strategic research development role for Dahl-Tacconi.
Hayne responded that she was “cautiously optimistic” but outlined several obstacles, including immigration restrictions, employment law considerations and financial pressures facing the university.
“If Otago were going to promise something in two years’ time, it would still be on the order of what we have already been discussing,” she wrote, noting that any arrangement would need to be carefully assessed internally.
Later emails show the university ultimately declining to proceed, citing significant budget constraints following government funding decisions.
“We have very quickly moved from a time of feast to a time of famine,” Hayne wrote, adding that Otago was “in no position at this particular point in time to add any new costs to our budget”.
There is no indication in the released material that any funding from Epstein was provided to the University of Otago, or that the proposed appointments progressed beyond preliminary discussion.
Krauss later resigned from Arizona State University in 2018 following allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denied.
Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Krauss has been contacted for comment.
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.