From THINK PROGRESS, via all sorts of media outlets :" Charles Koch, the billionaire libertarian who has funded front-groups and lobbying efforts to expand his anti-tax, anti-regulatory agenda under the guise of “free enterprise,” has now widened his reach into another key public policy area: academics. The Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation entered into an agreement with Florida State University in 2008 in which the foundation would provide millions of dollars in funds for the school’s economics department.
The funds were marked to add multiple faculty positions in the economics department. But the money came with multiple strings attached, including a demand that Koch have the ability to directly approve who ultimately filled the positions. As the St. Petersburg Times reports, the agreement is now raising questions across the board about academic freedom and integrity at public colleges and universities:
Under the agreement with the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, however, faculty only retain the illusion of control. The contract specifies that an advisory committee appointed by Koch decides which candidates should be considered. The foundation can also withdraw its funding if it’s not happy with the faculty’s choice or if the hires don’t meet “objectives” set by Koch during annual evaluations."
Not only are they buying politicians, they are buying the minds of future ones as well. Nice work if you can get it. Lets take this one step farther. A Chinese billionaire wants to give University X , say the Wharton School of Business.. or even The Terry School of Business at UGA - Five million dollars IF they economic dept. ONLY teaches Marxism. Exact same thing, just different labels. OR the best medical school in the country , I have no idea what it is, but Mr. Christian Billionaire wants to give the school 100 million dollars, but ONLY creationism can be taught.. drug resistant strains of anything will be a thing of the past, ( those microbes evolve, you know..)
It is just a most scary slippery slope to start down, and yet another reason to fear the Kochs!
1 comment:
Hey Kyle - thought this would be of interest to you: http://jobsanger.blogspot.com/2011/05/michigan-law-school-grads-walk-out-for.html
Law students staged a walkout on the homophobe speaker appearing at their graduation - of more note was the statement of one of the young graduates that their generation isn't going to go along with trying to turn back the clock on what they consider to be a settled matter constitutionally (i.e. equality).
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