Late last week, the West Virginia University Foundation reported that the value of its investments dropped by about $100 million over the last year from slightly more than $400 million to slightly more than $300 million, or about 25 percent. A day earlier, Harvard University and Yale University reported endowment losses of 27 percent and 30 percent respectively, while Columbia University reported a loss of only 16.1 percent. Based on what I have been reading, schools with aggressive investment strategies lost the most over the past year.
I note in reviewing the WVU Foundation website that the Research Trust Fund is dead last on the gift priorities drop-down list and doesn’t even make the “donate online” list, even though the State of West Virginia matches those contributions dollar for dollar. I thought research funding was one of WVU’s top priorities. Does the Foundation not agree? Whatever else you might say about Robert Murray, and a lot is being said, he made the most of his contribution to WVU.
You and I both know that donations like this are never truly about benevolence or altruism. The donor is buying something — be it access, legitimacy, or a skybox on the 50 yard line. In this instance, we have one of modern America’s most amoral corporate citizens trying to buy a little legitimacy and good will.
Money is money, and business is business. But is this really the best business for WVU to be in right now, when it’s still very much trying to overcome its reputation of giving bogus degrees to the rich and powerful? Surely they’re not THAT hard up for one million dollars.
And let me put this another way. Bob Murray is also a noted and outspoken global warming denier. Is this how WVU plans to establish itself as a 21st century research university? By creating an endowed chair in the name of one of America’s most outspoken global warming deniers? It’s nothing short of embarrassing.
HK, I dodged the difficult question: Why is it OK for WVU to accept this money? I agree with you: donations rarely are 100% altruistic. But I can think of a lot worse ways for Mr. Murray to spend $1 million. If press accounts are to be believed, Massey Energy President Don Blankenship spent about $1 million giving us Hannity, Hank, etc. Murray could have spent $1 million trying to convince us that global warrming doesn’t exist; instead his money MAY help us figure out how to minimize the environmental impact of coal.
Having said that, this does create a PR problem in Morgantown. For good or ill, we are judged by our cronies.
They could have kept the money. But they didn’t have to return the favor by creating a chair in his name.
What bothers me most is that if say, Marshall were to create an endowed chair in the name of an outspoken global warming denier, the people in Stewart Hall would sneer and laugh and hold it out for years as *the* example of why WVU West Virginia’s true leader in higher ed, etc. etc.
If you talk the talk, you have to walk the walk.
HK, we are talking a university setting – not state government. People have a right to express themselves. Campus is the ultimate free-speech zone.
Free speech isn’t even an issue here.