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Koch Foundation Keeps Giving to Universities

The Charles Koch Foundation is increasing its donations to colleges and universities.

The Associated Press examined the foundation’s most recent tax records. The study found that the organization gave almost $49 million to more than 250 colleges across the U.S. in 2016. That is almost double its 2015 gift amount.

John Hardin is director of university relations for the Koch Foundation. He said the increase is a result of increasing knowledge of the foundation’s program of giving. He said more professors are requesting money for their research. Hardin also said schools receive more money as their relationships with the foundation grow. So, schools that got gifts of a few thousand dollars five years ago now might receive hundreds of thousands, or millions, of dollars.

Hardin said aid requests cover research in economics, criminal justice and free expression.

George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a public school, receives more money from the Koch Foundation than any other learning center. In 2016, the organization gave GMU more than $19 million. That amounted to almost 40 percent of the foundation’s total gifts that year.

Critics have questioned whether the Koch Foundation support has affected¹ independent thought and study at the university.

GMU’s president, Angel Cabrera, and other school administrators² have repeatedly said the money has not had such an effect.

But, on April 27, Cabrera sent a letter to GMU professors that suggests something different. He wrote of agreements between the foundation and the GMU research center, Mercatus. Cabrera said the agreements permit the Koch Foundation to take part in deciding which professors to hire. The agreements, in his words, “fall short of the standards of academic independence I expect any gift to meet.”

Information about the agreements was released under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

The Koch Foundation and GMU have had ties for many years. However, the relationship did not become well-known publicly until 2016, when GMU renamed its law school for conservative Supreme³ Court Judge Antonin Scalia. It acted after receiving a $10 million gift from the Koch Foundation.

Cabrera now has agreed to reexamine all GMU donor⁴ agreements.

George Mason University is just one of many schools that are examining their Koch Foundation money ties. Ralph Wilson is research director for the nonprofit group, unKoch My Campus. He said the Koch Foundation’s activity in higher education “has grown exponentially” over the years. But Wilson said more and more schools are questioning the donations.

At Chapman University in Orange, California, students are questioning the school’s president, Daniele Struppa, about gifts from the Koch Foundation. It gave Chapman $225,000 in 2016 and is to give the school $5 million to build a center for political economy and philosophy.

Struppa is a former official at Mason.

In a statement, Struppa said that Chapman’s agreement with the Koch Foundation is not like Mason’s, adding that the school’s professors have the right to ask the Koch Foundation for money to support their research.

Chapman and the Koch Foundation agreed this week to let a reporter from the student newspaper, The Panther, see the donor agreement and ask questions about it. However, the reporter will not be permitted to take written notes about the agreement’s terms or take any pictures or make copies of it.

At Utah State University, in the town of Logan, a group of professors was asked to oversee⁵ a $25 million Koch Foundation gift. The money is to be used to grow the university’s business school and create a Center for Growth and Opportunity.

And at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, professors asked the administration to reject $3.7 million in Koch Foundation money.

Koch Foundation official John Hardin acknowledged that gifts are facing increased examination. He blamed it on a small number of activists⁶ who are trying to, in his words, “find ways to harass⁷ and try to censor⁸” research.

He said, “We find that deeply troubling.”

He said the foundation will continue to support schools even if some professors and others raise objections.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

foundation – n. an organization that is created and supported with money that people give in order to do something that helps society

exponentially – adj. very fast

acknowledge - v. to say that you accept or do not deny the truth or existence of something

harass - v. to annoy or bother someone in a constant or repeated way

censor - v. to examine books, movies, letters, etc., in order to remove things that are considered to be offensive, immoral, harmful to society

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

5 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

8 censor   

n./vt.审查，审查员；删改

参考例句：

• The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
• The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。