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Monday, November 21, 2005

College Philanthropy Run Amok

I was until recently under the mistaken impression that most big-time collegiate donors crafted binding stipulatory agreements as to how the target institution could use their money. Mostly, I presumed, it involved ensuring that one’s name becomes etched into a large slab of granite. But there might also be those donors who would prefer that their generous millions didn’t go toward researching The Effects of Gender Constructs on Protofeminist Native American Womyn in South Dakota & Also Why Supply-Side Economics is Mean & Everyone Should Buy Organic & Hate ‘Big Oil’ But Don’t Worry About My Gaz-Guzzling 1971 Volvo.

That, of course, is but a colorful hypothetical.

This piece at Opinion Journal and this slightly-older one at City Journal both talk about the misuse of donated money by colleges and how givers can bypass all the silliness and define deliverables. Well worth a read.

UPDATE: Welcome City Journal readers. Have a look around and excuse the sarcastic patina: I’m in the midst of final essays at school and so the snark has reared a bit too strongly here in recent days.

Posted on November 21, 2005 06:23 AM. Permalink