Legacy admissions (Was: W's transcript)

H. Curtiss Leung hncl at panix.com
Sun Mar 9 09:00:04 PST 2003


Michael noted:


> Virtually nobody can afford to found a real university anymore -- small
> law schools, seminaries ...., but not real universities. The scale has
> grown faster than wealth for all but a handful of people. Now the rich
> build a structure or endow a chair. How many new schools are named after
> funders now.

True, and raises interesting possibilities for actual research: who are the individuals/foundations that endow chairs, departments, and buildings; what strings are attached; given the other activities of individuals/ organizations who make large contributions, what sort of ideological presuppositions can we assume come with the donation, even if the donor and recipient protest that no _quid pro quo_ is involved.

I have a friend who does prospect research consulting for endowment funds. I could ask her these questions; she only talks about her work to the extent that the very, very wealthy who get hit for donations aren't in the public eye, and that they're deeply creepy.

Curtiss



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list