New York CNN — Big money donations are booming at America’s colleges, helping fund higher education for millions of students. But big donations often come with strings attached. Major donors typically give to specific purposes at schools. The biggest donors often sit on universities’ board of trustees, which governs the university and selects university leadership, priorities and direction. Private donations can be both a blessing and a curse. Donors’ largesse allows schools to plug funding gaps. But those gifts can quickly become liabilities if donors’ sentiments sour. The donor backlash at the University of Pennsylvania and uproar at Harvard University...