Nonprofit report recommends USU cuts ties with Koch Foundation
A report released on Tuesday by nonprofits UnKoch My Campus and the Center for Biological Diversity recommends Utah State University “should immediately rescind its agreement with the Charles Koch Foundation and disaffiliate itself from the Center for Growth and Opportunity.”
UnKoch My Campus is an organization that seeks to expose donors who exert “undue influence on colleges and universities nationwide,” according to its website.
In 2017, the Charles Koch Foundation agreed to donate $25 million to USU’s Huntsman School of Business over the course of five years. USU became one of the hundreds of other universities nationwide to receive a donation from the foundation, sparking controversy on campus.
Though university officials have repeatedly denied “strings attached” to the donation, the nonprofit report says otherwise.
Part of the donation was used to build an on-campus research center called the Center for Growth and Opportunity. According to its website, the center was designed to produce research that helps “understand and share knowledge on the factors that increase economic growth and individual opportunity.”
The report states that 13 employees from Strata Policy, a Koch-funded think tank, were hired at the CGO. The report claims that “The Center for Growth and Opportunity is continuing the anti-public-lands work of another Utah-based Koch-funded advocacy group, Strata Policy. But now it has more Koch money and greater access to Utah State University’s reputation and resources.”
Though the center is technically separate from the university, it is housed in Huntsman Hall and employs almost entirely USU students and faculty, most from the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.
In addition, the report claims the board overseeing the CGO has “veto power,” over hiring professors. However, USU Spokesman Tim Vitale said this is completely false.
“We have complete control over hiring and the CGO has no veto power whatsoever,” Vitale said in a phone interview with The Utah Statesman. “That is simply untrue.”
Multiple documentaries, books and articles give the Koch Foundation an anti-environmental reputation because of its work in the oil and gas industry, and the report claims the CGO is being used to propagate anti-environmental research.
“The Koch empire stands to gain financially by privatizing and dismantling public lands and by weakening environmental protections to allow for more exploitation by private industry,” the report states.
@alison__berg
My name is Levi Larsen and I do research as a student for the CGO. I want to point out a few things from this article that are either misleading or flat out untrue. First off, UnKoch saying Koch is bias is VERY ironic. While we are at it let’s ask the research organization “StopFeminism” how they feel about us pushing for women’s rights.
Does this discount everything that UnKoch has to say? It most certainly does not. Does Koch have some bias? Sure. We all of bias and it’s hard to eliminate it. However, let’s not act like they are the shining beacon of truth we have all been looking for. Bias flows both ways and someone who carries their bias in their name makes we question their true motives. Most people who do research know you should never approach a topic with an end goal in mind. This organization seems to do such. I would also encourage readers to do some research into who funds UnKoch and where their money is coming from.
Second off, the claim that, “the CGO is being used to propagate anti-environmental research” is completely false. I’m currently working on a project to promote PACE funding in multiple states. PACE funding is connecting home owners and businesses with private companies that fund the installment of environmentally friendly energy saving measures. It’s a huge supporter of solar power, and promotes individuals to invest more in assets that help the environment. I have NEVER been directed to focus my research on a specific angle. In fact, I’m encouraged to approach ideas from a completely non-bias point of view. Any member of the CGO has the power to call out research as bias and is encouraged to bring up those concerns at any moment. The research done at the CGO is not Koch’s research. It’s research brought up by both students and professors. This article is a huge misrepresentation of the role the Koch plays in the CGO.
In fact, I would challenge the authors of this article to spend a week with myself or another CGO member researching to see what it is really like. If you want to do some investigative journalism email me at levi.larsen@aggiemail.usu.edu and we can set up an opportunity for you to look into what we really do at the CGO. Let’s see if you are willing to your research before criticizing ours.
I appreciate your willingness to hold the business school accountable for the money it accepts, and I value any action that pushes for transparency. Both of the authors seem to be encouraging that. Thank you for you dedication to help us as students find such!