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.
Disclaimer: I solely maintain this page; the views expressed here are not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta or the Federal Reserve System.
GENERAL RESOURCES
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.”
University Funding From Fossil Fuels Slowing Switch to Green Energy—Report
September 5, 2024 article by Dharna Noor
According to the article’s tagline, “Study’s authors say integrity of higher education ‘at risk’ upon finding lack of attention to role of oil and gas firms.”
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.”
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.”
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 an 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
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
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
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)
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
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
October 28, 2019 story by Jack Miller in The Heights
November 19, 2019 story by Aysha Khan in Religious News Service
September 21, 2014 column by Schuyler Kraus in the Lawrence Journal-World
August 19, 2015 story by Cassidy Ritter in the University Daily Kansas
August 28, 2015 story by Lee Fang in The Intercept
September 21, 2015 story by Seth Shulman in the Huffington Post
November 4, 2015 op-ed by David Cooper and Ruth Stamper in the Wichita Eagle
September 12, 2014 story by David Levinthal for The Center for Public Integrity
February 3, 2017 story by Alex Kotch in AlterNet
April 25, 2021 story by Nathan Greenfield in University World News
May 8, 2021 story by Masha Gesen in The New Yorker
April 21, 2022 story by Conor Murray and Pia Singh in The Daily Pennsylvanian
April 25, 2021 story by Nathan Greenfield in University World News
April 25, 2022 story by Meredith Wadman in Science
University of California, Irvine
February 22, 2016 story by Elizabeth Redden in Inside Higher Ed
September 22, 2017 column by Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times
October 30, 2017 story by Mike Scutari in Inside Philanthropy
June 11, 2018 story by Margot Roosevelt in the Mercury News
July 2, 2018 op-ed by Tom Zoellner in the Orange County Register
June 3, 2019 Public Citizen report by Taylor Lincoln
June 3, 2019 story by Colleen Flaherty in Inside Higher Education
April 24 story by Alex Nadirashvill in the Brown Daily Herald
April 22 op-ed by the editorial board of the Johns Hoplkins News-Letter
Case Western Reserve University
October 27, 2017 story by Liam Adams in The Chronicle of Higher Education
March 19, 2018 story by Scott Jaschik in Inside Higher Ed
July 25, 2017 column by Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times
May 2, 2019 story by Alison Berg and Carter Moore in The Guardian
December 20, 2013 story by Patricia Zapor in the Cathlolic Herald
April 25, 2016 story by Anthony Annett in Commonweal
October 11, 2017 story by Tom Roberts in the National Catholic Reporter
October 4, 2018 story by John Gehring in Commonweal
May 9, 2018 story by Bruce Cheadle in The Globe and Mail
March 22, 2017 story by Fran Daniel in the Winston-Salem Journal
April 15, 2017 statement by the Center for Engaged Scholarship
February 25, 2016 story by Jane Stancill in The News & Observer
March 31, 2016 story by Julie Ball in the Citizen Times
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
May 12, 2014 story by George N. Schmidt in Substance News
July 11, 2019 story by Liam Knox in The Chronicle of Higher Education
December 20, 2019 story by Joe Holleman in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
April 5, 2018 post by Larry Bodine in Blog for Arizona
July 30, 2014 story by Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times
April 22, 2018 Answer Sheet analysis by Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post
May 14, 2011 story by Anna Bard Brutzman in the Independent Mail
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
November 7, 2019 story by Rick Ruggles in the Omaha World-Herald
January 30, 2019 op-ed by Katherine Smith in the Cavalier Daily
February 11, 2019 story by Mike Scutari in Inside Philanthropy
University of Chicago (no take backs?)