ThinkProgress: The Koch Foundation had a say in hiring and firing George Mason University professors

[No Excuses]

Quote

 

The newly released documents spell out the relationship between George Mason and the conservative megadonors wherein the foundation creates a fund to pay the salary of one or more professors at a free-market think tank at the school, the Mercatus Center. The agreements also create a five-member selection committee to choose the professors, and the foundation gets to name two committee members. They could also appoint members to advisory boards that had firing power should Koch-funded professors fail to live up to standards.

 

Last week, a judge scrutinized George Mason’s refusal to release any documents. In a note to faculty Friday night, George Mason President Angel Cabrera said the agreements “fall short of the standards of academic independence I expect any gift to meet.”

 

 

https://thinkprogress.org/koch-brothers-influenced-george-mason-university-7ce8bb84b753/

 

Not sure why I am posting this. The real issue with campus free speech and academic expression is of course, antifa.

[TradeTheBeal!]

Liberal hypocrisy strikes again!

[LadySkinsFan]

Conservative control of professors by the Kochs. 

 

George Mason has a reputation as a conservative university including the law school. I would never want to go there, it's like Pat Robinson's law school. 

[No Excuses]

Mason is a public school that shouldn't be taking marching orders from anyone in the private sphere. But this really is the conservative model for American higher education:

 

Cut taxes ----> Results in less funding for public schools ------> Have the ultra-wealthy go to cash strapped schools, make large donations and shove your ideological beliefs down everyone's throat

 

Cynical as hell but effective.

[Springfield]

35 minutes ago, LadySkinsFan said:

Conservative control of professors by the Kochs. 

 

George Mason has a reputation as a conservative university including the law school. I would never want to go there, it's like Pat Robinson's law school. 

 

Let’s not attack the whole school here, ok?

 

Im certain there are many GMU alumni on this board.  Wouldn’t want them to think less of you for throwing out baseless accusations.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Class of 2005 here.  Sat through classes that were definitely taught by conservatives, also definitely taught by liberals.

 

Having driven through campus for the first time in a number of years recently, the place has changed and in a lot of ways doesn't resemble the place I went.  Lots of newer, nicer buildings.  Mason has taken a pretty good leap forward to going from a step up from NOVA to being a solid state school that attracts kids not just from the DMV but from other areas as well.  Now if they'd only get a football team...

 

I'm sure the OP gives little to no ****s, but this is much ado about nothing.  Let's not act like the Koch's have invaded the English (my) department or the Anthropology department and started axing pantywaist commie pinko liberals from high ranking tenured positions as the title would lead one to believe.  This is for (as the selected text says) creating a fund to pay for the salaries of one or more professors for a free market think tank at the school.  The foundation gets to name 2 of 5 committee members.  If the professors aren't good (read: not indoctrinating precious children with conservative beliefs) they can also have a say in firing.  

 

As far as the kid who are with the unKoch my campus movement or whatever....hope they like their big fancy dorms, nice technology and buildings.   While a lot of that definitely comes from taxpayer money, some of it also comes from *gasp* evil white people with differing political opinions and social beliefs as theirs.

 

I fail to see the big deal here.  I also fail to see the huuuuuge issue with Scalia's name on the law department.  

[No Excuses]

45 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

I fail to see the big deal here.

 

Of course you don't.

 

The wealthy cannot rob this country of any and all public services unless they can count on the apathy and ignorance of the fence pigeons.

 

This is ultimately an issue that plagues literally any and all public matters in the country.

 

Cut taxes, deregulate and cut ethical standards for institutions, stuff the courts with judges who have decimated campaign finance laws, deprive public universities of funding so rich donors can fill the gaps and steer ideology.

 

It's a corrupt and broken system that is completely ****ing this country up the ass.

[Springfield]

The integrity of the school doesn’t seem to have been compromised.  What’s the problem?

[No Excuses]

2 minutes ago, Springfield said:

The integrity of the school doesn’t seem to have been compromised.  What’s the problem?

 

 

 

Quote

 

The newly released emails are heavily redacted and do not expose the donor, but they do show that Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the conservative Federalist Society, is described as a representative of the donor.

 

Emails between Leo and the Mason law school’s dean, Henry Butler, show Leo inquiring on behalf of law school applicants and expressing approval of faculty hires.

 

In one email, Butler informs Leo of a unanimous faculty vote in favor of hiring a new member of the law school faculty, to which Leo replies “Great!” The faculty member later went on leave to join the Trump administration.

 

In a 2015 email, Leo informs Butler about a student prospect who has been working at RAGA, the Republican Attorney General Association, and who is looking to apply to Mason’s law school. Leo asks if Butler will meet the prospect and Butler replies, “Absolutley! (sic) I will work with the admissions office to make sure we get together.”

 

Bethany Letiecq, president of the American Association of University Professors at GMU, said in a statement that the Scalia school documents confirm what many faculty have suspected for years.

 

“Private donors have been provided influence over faculty affairs at our public university,” she said. “This is a violation of the public trust.”

 

 

https://apnews.com/0c87e4318bcc4eb9b8e69f9f54c7b889

 

I really shouldn't have to explain why this kind of a relationship between donors-public universities is absolutely god awful in the long-run.

[Renegade7]

1 hour ago, No Excuses said:

Cynical as hell but effective.

If you ever wonder why things are the way they are, follow the money.  I'm convinced the GOP wants a uninformed/non-critical thinking electorate so they'll ask less questions, there's nothing cynical about it, the actions speak for themselves at this point.

[Spaceman Spiff]

4 minutes ago, No Excuses said:

 

 

 

 

https://apnews.com/0c87e4318bcc4eb9b8e69f9f54c7b889

 

I really shouldn't have to explain why this kind of a relationship between donors-public universities is absolutely god awful in the long-run.

 

Sure, I get it.  

 

Let me just ask.  If these donors were people/organizations that were in lockstep with your political leanings, would this be an issue to you?  

[TradeTheBeal!]

3 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

Sure, I get it.  

 

Let me just ask.  If these donors were people/organizations that were in lockstep with your political leanings, would this be an issue to you?  

 

You mean donors that favor public funding and non-ideological curriculum?  Because that’s the political leanings we’re talking about.

[No Excuses]

14 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

Sure, I get it.  

 

Let me just ask.  If these donors were people/organizations that were in lockstep with your political leanings, would this be an issue to you?  

 

Yes. 

 

Starving public universities of money and having politically motivated donors of any stripe fill the vacuum is a god awful scenario for America's higher education system.

 

There are private universities that can accomplish the very goals of these donors, but there is a reason they are making their way into public schools.

 

The people of this country will have their political voice and public institutions completely bought out if this keeps pace.

[Zguy28]

NM, me need to learn to read.

[DogofWar1]

I'm sure this happens out there in various places, but it's concerning nonetheless and seeing it in action here is very problematic.

 

Sure, in this instance, the Kochs seemed to value putting people in place that support their economic philosophy, pumping out "experts" for their libertarian worldview who can go on TV and write papers that otherwise might not come to be naturally, but I was thinking, what happens if, say, David Duke got a similar thing going somewhere and wanted to put a white supremacist as head of an anthropology department.

 

Or an Exxon executive focused on putting professors into place who will oppose teaching about climate change.

 

Or [insert person paying money to push their viewpoint here].

 

And that's the problem.  Academic institutions are supposed to teach the latest and greatest knowledge of an area, but if money can help dictate what is taught, there is no guarantee that that will happen.

 

If Soros was doing this, I'd oppose it.  I'm not happy about the Koch's doing it.  This looks fishy and concerning.  While they might only have 2 of 5 seats, that's hugely powerful, and if they also have firing power, they can basically overrule the 3 seats if they overrule the Koch's two.

[No Excuses]

5 minutes ago, DogofWar1 said:

 

If Soros was doing this, I'd oppose it.  I'm not happy about the Koch's doing it.  This looks fishy and concerning.  While they might only have 2 of 5 seats, that's hugely powerful, and if they also have firing power, they can basically overrule the 3 seats if they overrule the Koch's two.

 

They also put in contingency clauses that allows them to pull funding if hiring decisions are made against their wishes.

 

Allowing things like that at public universities is the definition of garbage.

[DogofWar1]

18 minutes ago, No Excuses said:

 

They also put in contingency clauses that allows them to pull funding if hiring decisions are made against their wishes.

 

Allowing things like that at public universities is the definition of garbage.

Yeah.  That struck me as really problematic.  If you can just fire people or pull funding if the 3 of 5 overrule your 2 of 5, then the 3 of 5 doesn't really have much power.

[Renegade7]

2 hours ago, No Excuses said:

 

Yes. 

 

I can't imagine being a Republican right now and looking at what their party has become and not knowing where to go and know your vote won't matter if you vote independent in most cases.  Sometimes I wonder if I'd still pull the lever if Dems we're the same or worse (I say I wouldn't... I just try not to think about it)

[PokerPacker]

10 hours ago, LadySkinsFan said:

Conservative control of professors by the Kochs. 

 

George Mason has a reputation as a conservative university including the law school. I would never want to go there, it's like Pat Robinson's law school. 

I've never seen George Mason be accused of being conservative.  Hell, I remember my step-grandfather ranting about the Muslim prayer areas (which aren't a thing, but that doesn't stop the trash evangelist magazines from riling up their base) going up around the school.  If anything, I've heard it referred to as a libertarian factory.

[visionary]

5 hours ago, Renegade7 said:

I can't imagine being a Republican right now and looking at what their party has become and not knowing where to go and know your vote won't matter if you vote independent in most cases.  Sometimes I wonder if I'd still pull the lever if Dems we're the same or worse (I say I wouldn't... I just try not to think about it)

It is interesting and confusing at first during election times, but it gets easier over time (at least it has for me) with the way the party has gone.  

[Renegade7]

1 hour ago, visionary said:

It is interesting and confusing at first during election times, but it gets easier over time (at least it has for me) with the way the party has gone.  

You know what I like most about this post, I think I have a good idea about which party you're talking about, but I'm not 100% sure (or at least now I feel surprised).  It's a testament to your attempts to be an impartial news source and another reason I respect you so much.  You don't have to clarify, because honestly, I don't want to know.

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

I went to Mason my freshman year before transferring then got my masters there. Little known fact, the school creed, “Magnus Iuxta Viam” is latin for “Minutes from the beltway”

[tshile]

7 hours ago, PokerPacker said:

I've never seen George Mason be accused of being conservative.

I’ve never heard of the university being accused of being conservative and I’d seriously question anyone who said that. 

 

The economics department has had a reputation for being strangely in the free market nonsense for a while, and for the people aware of that this article is not a surprise. 

 

This is school of economics is admittedly a think tank. 

 

People seem to be conflating that with the entire university which is silly (pending more information...)

 

i spent all my time in the cs and engineering departments, none of this existed there. 

[LadySkinsFan]

If a university names it's law school after Scalia, it's a pretty good indicator that it's conservative.

[Llevron]

You guys are so predictable lol