Dear Commons Community,

Dean Johnston at Hunter College passed along a piece that appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education.  In return for a  $1.5 million gift from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation to Florida State University,  an advisory committee appointed by the foundation gets to screen and sign off on any hires for a program promoting “political economy and free enterprise” and can withdraw the foundation’s financial support if the committee is unhappy with how those new employees perform, according to an article in the St. Petersburg Times.  Opponents  argue that the deal undermines academic freedom, however, the dean of the College of Social Sciences defended the arrangement , saying it would have been “irresponsible” not to accept the donation.

Hello Free Enterprise!  Good-Bye Academic Freedom!

Tony