05-11-2011, 06:07 PM
Dakota wrote:
OK, somebody shows up at a university and says I have a million bucks to give but I want it used this way. What is the problem?
I think you make a good point, Dakota. It's really not the Kochs' responsibility to maintain Florida State University's academic independence - that is the university's job.
It's true that it's outside general and accepted practice at institutions of higher learning to accept endowments like this, where the donor has direct influence over hiring decisions. Historically, the reason for this is that universities derive much of their legitimacy from the relative independence of tenured faculty. Traditionally, this independence includes the authority to hire and promote professors without outside influence.
It's not unreasonable to ask whether this system works, or provides a public good. I happen to think that it does, and that universities are better off when they decline gifts with such strings attached. Whether the donor is a Koch or a Soros, giving wealthy contributors undue influence over faculty selection hurts the institution's reputation. And in academia, reputation is literally everything.