Dave Rapach - Academic Capture

Academic Capture

This page contains materials relating to the academic capture of institutions of higher education by financial elites and corporate interests. Academic capture undermines the ability of our institutions of higher education to promote the public good.

General Resources

Dark Money
Book by Jane Mayer

Essential reading for understanding the taxpayer-subsidized abuse of philanthropy by financial elites (including “gifts” to universities) to further their own narrow interests.

Tainted Philanthropy in Higher Education
April 17, 2020 op-ed by Samantha Parsons, David Rapach, and Jasmine Banks in ProMarket

Recommends that “[o]ur institutions of higher education should apply appropriate ethical and academic standards when considering financial donations; otherwise, they risk promoting the private interests of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the public good.”

Plutocratic Philanthropy
Article by Emma Saunders-Hastings in the January 2018 issue of The Journal of Politics

Counsels that “democratizing philanthropy requires addressing the policy mechanisms and the public attitudes that privilege the wishes of donors over those of recipient organizations or the broader community.”

Should Philanthropists Replace Government?
December 3, 2019 article by Martin Levine in Nonprofit Quarerly

Warns that “[o]nce the checks and balances only government can ensure are gone, nonprofits will lose the very soil where their roots must sink.”

Elite Universities are Selling Themselves—and Look Who's Buying
March 30, 2018 opinion piece by Grif Peterson and Yarden Katz in The Guardian

As cautioned in this revealing piece, “When universities decide to sell themselves to the highest bidder, they become deaf to the interests of their students and the wider societies in which they operate.”

American Universities are Addicted to Billionaires
September 11, 2019 opinion piece by Farhad Manjoo in the New York Times

Warns that “[t]he chumminess suggests a deeper and more intractable moral rot in American academia: It shows that when a billionaire (or, in Epstein’s case, a faux billionaire) comes calling, men in the ivory tower can't resist lowering their golden locks to let the plutocrat climb aboard.”

Activists are Pushing to Remove Donor Influence from College Campuses
March 9, 2019 article by Eleanor Bader in Truthout

Reports that “[s]tudents and faculty across the US have begun to push back against undue donor influence on campuses.”

Saying “No” to Donor Demands Should Be a Core Competency
March 12, 2019 article by Martin Levine in Nonprofit Quarterly

Warns that “[t]he allure of wealth is powerful and, particularly when times are tough, strong enough to tempt nonprofit organizations to muddy their missions and make principled decision-making difficult.”

Why the Koch Brothers Find Higher Education Worth Their Money
June 5, 2018 report by The Center for Public Integrity

Describes how “[t]he power of the Koch brothers' money in higher ed goes far and wide, and aims for impact.”

Higher Ed, Inc.
October 7, 2018 opinion piece by Ruth Perry and Yarden Katz in the Chronicle of Higher Education

Describes “[h]ow the university became a profit-generating cog in the corporate machine.”

Universities are Facing Criticism for Taking Dirty Money. Do Their Donor Policies Protect Them?
October 30, 2019 story by Francie Diep in the Chronicle of Higher Education

Rhetorically asks, “Is it time for new rules for donations to colleges and universities?”

Pursuers of Truth or Peddlers of Influence?
September 21, 2018 op-ed by David Rapach and Bonnie Wilson in ProMarket

Warns that “If institutions of higher education are to seek truth and advance common goods, they cannot also be peddlers of influence, trading donations for special privileges, such as a say in employment decisions, curriculum development, or the directing of funding to individual research projects.”

College Faculty Are Speaking Out Against Billionaire Donors
May 11, 2020 article by Eleanor Bader in The Progressive

Observes that “[t]hese gifts likely sound great—that is, until you read the fine print and discover that almost all come with strings attached.”

The “Free Speech” Charade
May 17, 2016 opinion piece by Aaron Hanlon in The New Republic

The call for free speech on campuses by wealthy elites sounds disingenuous when they give money with strings attached.

University Donations: No Strings Attached?
January 3, 2019 piece by Paul Basken in the Times Higher Education

Examines how universities can preserve their independence when they accept financial gifts from ideologically motivated donors.

Koch University Funding Update 2005–2019
Report by UnKoch My Campus

Warns that “Koch gives to schools with the explicit goal of creating intellectual fodder for his network of political interest groups, and recruiting and training students to integrate into that network.”

Preventing Economists’ Capture
Chapter by Luigi Zingales in Preventing Regulatory Capture

Explains how academic economists are susceptible to capture by business interests and proposes remedies to prevent capture.

Just Giving: Why Philanthropy Is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better
Book by Rob Reich

Describes how philanthropy converts private assets into public influence, which can undermine democracy and exacerbate inequality.

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World
Book by Anand Giridharadas

Argues that philanthropic efforts by elites often do more harm than good.

Uber's “Academic Research” Program: How to Use Famous Economists to Spread Corporate Narratives
December 5, 2019 op-ed by Hubert Horan in ProMarket

Explains why we should be extremely wary of the findings in corporate-influenced “academic” research.

Scrutiny of Donors and “Reputational Laundering” is Growing Thanks to COVID and Protests
June 25, 2020 story by Mike Scutari in Inside Philanthropy

Takes a in-depth look into concerns that “the rich and powerful give billions to paper over transgressions and legitimize their class in the eyes of a suspicious American public.”

Schools

Saint Louis University

August 28, 2018 memo by David Rapach and Bonnie Wilson

September 4, 2018 memo by David Rapach and Bonnie Wilson

September 6, 2018 story by Savanah Seyer in The University News

September 15, 2018 story by Mike Scutari in Inside Philanthropy

September 18, 2018 story by Nassim Benchaabane in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

September 19, 2018 story by Nassim Benchaabane in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

September 19, 2018 “Quick Takes” by Scott Jaschik in Inside Higher Ed

September 20, 2018 op-ed by the editorial board in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

October 8, 2018 story by Marjorie Valbrun in Inside Higher Ed

Update on the Sinquefield controversy (last revision: January 11, 2019)

February 21, 2019 story by Mike Scutari in Inside Philanthropy

March 9, 2019 Report by the Faculty Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Policy Concerning Donor Influence Over Academic Matters

George Mason University

May 1, 2018 story by Anemona Hartocollis in the New York Times

May 4, 2018 story by Matthew Barakat, Associated Press in The Christian Science Monitor

May 5, 2018 story by Erica L. Green and Stephanie Saul in the New York Times

June 25, 2018 post by Phillip Mirowski in the Institute for New Economic Thinking blog

July 25, 2018 story by Colleen Flaherty in Inside Higher Ed

September 19, 2018 story by David Dayen in The Intercept

September 22, 2018 story by David Dayen in The Intercept

October 9, 2018 Report of the Review of Gift Agreements

October 10, 2018 story by Sarah Larimer in the Washington Post

October 2018 analysis by UnKoch My Campus - A Closer Look at GMU's Review of Gift Agreements

November 5, 2018 op-ed by Sara Deriso in Fourth Estate

December 17, 2018 viewpoint by Ian Storey in Heterodox Academy

Spring 2019 op-ed by Bethany Letiecq in Academe

December 19, 2019 story by Jack Stripling and Nell Gluckman in the Chronicle of Higher Education

December 20, 2019 story by Martin Levine in Nonprofit Quarterly

MIT

September 7, 2019 story by Marc Tracy and Tiffany Hsu in the New York Times

September 11, 2019 letter to MIT President Rafael Reif (signed by Manuel Cabrera, Steven DeLay, Laura Freberg, Christos Hadjioannou, Kim Holleman, Charles Larmore, Kate Manne, Ram Neta, John Rogove, and Dylan Trigg)

September 18, 2019 letter to MIT President Rafael Reif (signed by Manuel Cabrera, Steven DeLay, Laura Freberg, Christos Hadjioannou, Kim Holleman, Charles Larmore, Kate Manne, Ram Neta, John Rogove, and Dylan Trigg)

January 16, 2020 story by Noam Cohen in Wired

January 20, 2020 op-ed by Stefano Feltri in ProMarket

January 23, 2020 letter to MIT President Rafael Reif (signed by Steven DeLay, Christos Hadjioannou, Kim Holleman, Charles Larmore, Kate Manne, and Larry Temkin)

Harvard University

May 1, 2020 Report Concerning Jeffrey Epstein's Connections to Harvard University

May 1, 2020 story by Deirdre Fernandes in the Boston Globe

May 4, 2020 op-ed (by the editorial board) in The Harvard Crimson

May 5, 2020 story by Noam Cohen in Wired

May 7, 2020 letter to Harvard President Lawrence Bacow (signed by Steven DeLay, Christos Hadjioannou, Jeff Malpas, Kate Manne, and David Rapach)

March 27, 2021 story by Edward Helmore in The Guardian

April 25, 2022 story by Felicia He and James Jolin in The Harvard Crimson

Yale University

September 30, 2021 story by Jennifer Schuesller in the New York Times

October 10, 2021 op-ed by Jason Stanley in the Yale Daily News

Boston College