Lawsuit seeks details of school's ties with Koch Foundation
Source: Associated Press
Matthew Barakat, Associated Press
Updated 4:09 pm, Tuesday, April 24, 2018
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A judge is weighing whether to force a Virginia university's philanthropic arm to disclose details of its relationship with the conservative Koch Foundation.
Samantha Parsons, a former GMU student who for years has been active in raising concerns about the Koch Foundation's influence, said awareness among the student body has increased tenfold since 2016, when the school named its law school for conservative jurist Antonin Scalia in conjunction with a $10 million Koch Foundation donation.
"The name change is a consequence of a bigger issue — donors buying control over the university," said Parsons, who has since graduated and now works for an activist group, UnKoch My Campus, which calls attention to donations made to universities by the Koch Foundation.
About 25 students, faculty and others rallied at the courthouse Tuesday before Tuesday's trial, asserting that Koch money represents a danger to the university's academic freedom. Many of those students filled the courtroom Tuesday. The judge, John Tran, applauded the students for their activism. After both sides made their closing arguments, Tran took the case under advisement and said he will issue a ruling at a later date.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Lawsuit-seeks-details-of-school-s-ties-with-Koch-12860392.php
= new reply since forum marked as read
No signs of slowing down either.
Went to GMU's fmr. Patriot Ctr. to see Tim Kaine & Joe Biden the night before the fateful 2016 election. What expansion! Well done from what I saw. I hadn't been there in a while, just attended a 2006 law seminar on prison reform with Jim Webb at the Arl. Mercatus Ctr. Didn't know the Kochs then. GWU is an alum., old stomping grounds and grown a lot too.
