Although the terms of these grants are not necessarily open to public scrutiny, many of the donor agreements specify that money paid for the hiring of new faculty members and the expansion of centers with a mission to study capitalism and free enterprise. that is to support “research into the causes, measurements, impact and appreciation of economic freedom,” with faculty hired with this money expected to advance “the understanding and practice of those free voluntary processes and principles that promote social progress, human well-being, individual freedom, opportunity and prosperity based on the rule of law, constitutional government, private property and the laws, regulations, organizations, institutions and social norms upon which they rely.”
Cary Nelson, president of the American Association of University Professors and Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says “Although the Koch Foundation’s objectives are written so as to sound upbeat and cheerful, they amount to code words calling for the dismantling of the welfare state,” Nelson wrote in an e-mail. “ ‘Economic freedom’ sounds like mom and apple pie until you realize it means the government shouldn’t collect taxes, and ‘free voluntary processes’ means buy health care on your own if you can afford it.
“It is wholly inappropriate for an outside foundation to use a university to promote its ideological biases in this way,” he continued. “The Kochs can fund positions to hire faculty members who study these issues, but not control what stand the faculty members hired take on them. That distinction is part of the firewall protecting academic freedom.”
The Charles G. Koch Foundation counter states “The mission of the Charles Koch Foundation is to promote an understanding of the conditions that create the most opportunity and prosperity for individuals, and we support researchers and teachers who are interested in examining these ideas. Our agreements with both Clemson and Utah State expanded existing educational programs at these schools, which have long been recognized for their innovative research and teaching on the ideas of economic freedom. We respect and support academic freedom and consider it foundational in fostering a vibrant academic environment, and as numerous university administrators, professors and students have said about these programs, they have complete freedom to shape the programming supported by our grants.”
“I think it’s important to be a little bit pragmatic. The reality is that most gifts have strings attached,” said Daniel D. Warner, professor of mathematical sciences and chair of the faculty senate at Clemson, citing scholarships or grants made to specific colleges within universities as other kinds of gifts with strings. “I appreciate the concern, but I just feel pretty strongly that it’s not an academic freedom issue.”
Read more at Inside Higher Education