Pulliam Prof. Miranda Spivack Examines Private Donations to Public Universities

April 27, 2018

"Critics say the lack of transparency from public university foundations at George Mason, Florida State and elsewhere makes it difficult to gauge the level of influence private donors may exert over curriculum, hiring and other decisions," writes Miranda S. Spivack, Eugene S. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism at DePauw University, in New York's Newsday. "Also worrisome, critics say, is that the exposure to taxpayers for future costs of tenured faculty and staff when the gifts run out is difficult to ascertain because of a hodgepodge of disclosure rules covering public colleges and universities that vary from state to state."

The article begins, "George Mason University’s decision two years ago to rename its law school for Justice Antonin Scalia as part of agreements with donors created a sense of unease among students and faculty on the public university’s Fairfax, Virginia, campus. The move prompted a group of students to press for details of the university’s other agreements with the right-leaning, libertarian Charles Koch Foundation -- one of the donors to the law school. The students, part of the Transparent GMU advocacy group, want to examine the agreements to determine whether the gifts include requirements that can sway decisions about curriculum as well as the hiring and firing of faculty. That issue arose at Florida State University, where students and faculty worried that the Koch foundation appeared to seek influence over hiring and curriculum decisions as a condition of its donations ... Similar concerns have surfaced after private donations made to public universities in Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and New Jersey became public. Last month, at private Wellesley College, a dispute developed and college officials are rethinking the Koch gifts."

You'll find the complete piece at the newspaper's website.

Spivack has been a working journalist for four decades and spent nearly 20 years at the Washington Post as an editor and reporter. She recently received the Sunshine Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for her work on behalf of the Center for Investigative Reporting. Issued by SPJ's Board of Directors and Freedom of Information Committee, the Sunshine Awards "honor people or organizations each year for their notable contributions to open government."

On February 15, the professor moderated a discussion at DePauw on civility between former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton '52 and former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar,  A summary is available here.

Source: Newsday

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