Saying Goodbye To The Kojo Nnamdi Show
On this last episode, we look back on 23 years of joyous, difficult and always informative conversation.
George Mason University is the largest higher education recipient of donations from the private Koch Foundation.
When the Charles Koch Foundation donated funds to George Mason University’s economics department between 2003 and 2011, the gifts were meant to hire faculty members. While many public schools accept private donations, newly released documents reveal that the gifts also gave the conservative-leaning foundation participation in the selection and evaluating of new hires.
For campus advocates currently suing for more transparency surrounding donations, the news is confirmation the Kochs had inappropriate influence on the academic direction of the school. But is their objection more about the school’s lack of transparency or the Koch Foundation’s ideology? The debate extends to schools across the region and the nation, many of which are desperate for cash as higher education gets more expensive. Kojo explores the issues of intellectual and academic integrity, and what happens when private philanthropy funds universities.
Guests
- Miranda Spivack Independent Journalist; @mirandareporter
- Janine Gaspari Student Leader, Transparent GMU; @transparentGMU
- Steven Pearlstein Robinson Professor of Public Affairs, George Mason University Schar School of Government and Policy; Columnist, The Washington Post
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