The Conditional Gift: Charles Koch's Philanthropy and the Threat to Academic Freedom

Abstract

While much attention has been given to the influence of philanthropy in the K-12 sector, little research has been done regarding the effects of philanthropy on higher education. This study uses the philanthropy of Charles Koch in higher education, executed by the Charles Koch Foundation, as a case study in order to better understand the policy implications at the federal, state, and university levels of wealthy donors’ gifts and grants to American colleges and universities, especially those that are politically or economically motivated. Several components of the foundation’s grant-making and overall strategies were collected and assessed using a comprehensive methodological framework that allows universities to contextualize the concerning nature of the foundation’s grants. Nineteen in-person, phone, or e-mail interviews were conducted with individuals who have some knowledge of or experience with the Charles Koch Foundation. Interviewed subjects include professors opposed to Koch funding at their universities, professors and students who have received Koch funding, activists, student fellows at Koch-funded organizations, and those with past or current ties to the Koch network, including a former employee of the foundation. In addition to interviews, quantitative and qualitative data were also collected. An appendix of Koch-funded university research centers was created to understand the scope and nature of the programming funded by the foundation, and grant data from the foundation’s annual 990-TF tax forms were collected and aggregated. The results of this study indicate that the Charles Koch Foundation supports universities as part of a larger, multi-faceted plan to promote free market and libertarian ideology across the nation. Supporting academics is seen by the Koch network as a way of leveraging intellectuals to bring about policies supported by the tightly-knit Koch network, which also gives considerably to influence voters via many other nonprofit organizations. This study will ultimately suggest that universities must remain cautious if confronted with funding from the Charles Koch Foundation due to its history of academic freedom violations, its view of philanthropy as a tool in shaping American politics and policy, its place in a larger network that backs the same ideological agenda, and its grant agreement structure that seems to demand compliance with donor intent or face the loss of funding. However, the foundation has been investing in more research centers that do not seem related to the promotion of free market policies or policies that would increase Kochs’ corporate profits, suggesting a slightly new direction for the foundation. Regardless, universities must implement proper safeguards within their gift and grant policies to protect themselves from undue donor influence and violations of academic freedom from any donor—not just Koch.