One of the main criticisms being leveled against a proposed Western civilization program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is that the program would possibly be funded by a conservative philanthropy.

UNC-CH leaders approached the Raleigh-based John W. Pope Foundation about funding the proposed program. If the foundation agrees, it could mean a $12 million donation for the school.

A small group of leftist students and professors is protesting the possible grant. They argue any donation from the Pope Foundation is tainted and should not be considered because the foundation also gives funding to conservative groups that have criticized UNC-Chapel Hill, including the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy. They argue that no distinction would be made between the politics of the donor and the direction of the program.

Should the Pope Foundation agree to fund the proposed Western civilization program, however, it would hardly be the first time a private foundation with a noticeable political agenda has ever given money to a program at UNC-CH. Nor would it be the first program the foundation supported at UNC-CH. The philanthropy has donated funds to the following at UNC-CH:

• The Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
• The Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center.
• The Ackland Art Museum.
• The College of Arts and Sciences.
• The business school.
• The school of social work.
• the alumni foundation, and
• the athletics department.

The Pope Foundation has also given grants to programs at other universities, including Campbell University, George Mason University, and most recently, N.C. State University.

The program at N.C. State that received funding from the Pope Foundation this summer — a grant this year of $511,500 — is somewhat similar to UNC-CH’s Western civilization program proposal. The Pope donation goes to support course development in the political science and economics departments for a program, research, an annual lecture series, and a group comprising students and faculty from both departments.

N.C. State announced news of the donation with a press release. In it the head of the economics department, Dr. Stephen Margolis, said that the Popes’ gift “creates important opportunities for our students and faculty.”

Associate professor of political science Dr. Andrew Taylor said, “The grant will augment opportunities for undergraduate students and expose them to a whole array of new ideas.”

Each year UNC-CH receives millions in research grants and donations for various programs at the school. During fiscal 2003, for example, UNC-CH received funding from 378 foundations, which gave about $44.8 million. Many, including some recent donors, had their own political agendas, but never were those considered justification for turning down the grants. Rather, the donors were hailed and celebrated for contributing to the university’s diversity.

In 2002, the Freeman Foundation gave $2 million to UNC-CH to support the school’s Asian studies program. Founded in 1992, the Freeman Foundation is named for Mansfield Freeman, who cofounded American International Group Inc., or AIG. The Freeman Foundation, which is based in Vermont, is dedicated to creating an understanding between the United States and the Far East.

The Rockefeller Foundation, in 2001, gave $350,000 to the University Center for International Studies for a four-year program called “Re-imagining Civil Society in an Era of Globalization: The American South in Applied Humanistic Perspectives.” Based in New York, the Rockefeller Foundation is a global organization that seeks to enrich the lives of poor and excluded people.

The GlaxoSmithKline Foundation donated $1.4 million in 2002 to fund a program on “ethnicity, culture and health outcomes.” The foundation, based in North Carolina, seeks to meet the health and educational needs of this and future generations.

In 2001, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave $200,000 to support the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy. Founded in 2000, the Gates Foundation attempts to improve equity in education and health throughout the world.

UNC-CH produced press releases about each of those donations, which generated several news stories that discussed how each would help fund a program that would address a serious concern of international importance.

Shannon Blosser is a contributing writer of Carolina Journal.