Staff distributed the bank notes in traditional Lunar New Year envelopes last week. When sent to the living, such notes can considered highly offensive.

When he returned to teaching in-person this semester, Vinod Menon, a physics professor at City College of New York in Harlem, discovered a big—and pleasant—surprise.

The money comes from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, part of a federal coronavirus aid package.

As business leaders gather to talk mandates, most colleges and universities are continuing to encourage vaccines.