How do Cultural Wars Impact Giving to Universities?

Michael Brennan

There are many instances where cultural wars have impacted universities; not all impacts are directly related to donors or fund raising, but they set a precedence that can influence a donor’s decision on where and to whom to donate to.  

Changing the honorary names of names of schools, departments, buildings etc. due to the namesakes past beliefs or actions has been going on for quite some time, but in recent years has become more prevalent due to the rise of “cancel culture.” Recent examples include the UC Hasting School of Law, and Princeton – the Woodrow Wilson Plaza (Wilson’s name is also disappearing from secondary schools as well).

Changing donor names due to current or past loosely defined ethical behaviors, whether it be the donor’s or a company associated with the donor has also increased recently. A number of examples include the Sacklers of Purdue Pharma, who have named numerous arts and education facilities, John Schnotter formerly of Papa John’s, whose name was stripped from the economics center at Purdue University, and Ron Weiser, a $50m donor and trustee at the U. of Michigan who founded the Weiser Diplomacy Center, among others at Michigan, whose naming is now being debated at U of M over his remarks regarding the State’s leadership (whom he called witches).

Other donors without namings have also come under fire.  Two recent ones include Yale University, where the Director of the Grand Strategy Program resigned due to donor interference because the two donors who set up the original endowment insisted that she name a conservative majority to the program’s board of advisors.  The University of Texas is also fighting donor resentment because the U may want to change the school’s song “The Eyes of Tx” due to its confederate connotations.

Another interesting one, not a university but PBS, where the head of CPAC (Conservative Political action Conference), stated that PBS should be unfunded because Sesame Street introduced an Asian American Muppet to the show. Only two weeks after Big Bird got his vaccine on national TV. 

Public Institutions may be more susceptible to such changes just due to the public response of particular donors giving to or naming such facilities.  Examples currently active include changing public laws about namings, which San Francisco is reviewing, due to the naming of the Chan and Zuckerberg S.F. General Hospital.

The State of Montana is also now introducing a four-day public period for naming review before a name can be used on a public university building.

I’m sure there are many other examples that can be found.  Yet, given the above, will we be seeing donors becoming more astute in their giving? Or will they think twice about how their funds and names will be used in such an environment due to a university’s perceived stance on current culture wars, including academic freedom.