Scalia name change for George Mason law school shows viewpoint diversity, says university president
Justice Antonin Scalia.
George Mason University, a public college, is not becoming too dependent on private donations, says its president, who has heard concerns about its recent $30 million in law school gifts from seemingly conservative donors.
This spring, the law school received a $10 million donation from the Charles Koch Foundation, the Washington Post reports, and a $20 million donation from an anonymous donor, who requested that the law school be renamed in honor of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The school’s faculty senate recently approved a resolution expressing “deep concern” about the gifts. The group is reportedly considering another resolution calling for a delay in the name change.
“We must ensure that George Mason University remains an example of diversity of thought, a place where multiple perspectives can be dissected, confronted, and debated for the benefit and progress of society at large,” Angel Cabrera, president of George Mason University, wrote in a faculty letter released Sunday. “Rejecting a major naming gift in honor of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice on the basis that some of us disagree with some of his opinions would be inconsistent with our values of diversity and freedom of thought.”
According to the New York Times the faculty senate recently released grant agreements, which show that the school must add 12 new faculty members, create two new centers to expand its law and economics focus and notify the Koch Foundation if law school dean Henry Butler steps down. Butler used to run the school’s Law and Economics Center, the article states, and reportedly has close ties with the Koch family.
A petition with 1,200 signatures asking for more public input about the name change was recently sent to the governing body responsible for approving the plan. The name change would be an “affront to those in our community who have been the targets of Scalia’s racism, sexism, and homophobia,” the petition reads. It also notes that the donations come at time when George Mason has declining state support, and faces numerous budget challenges.
Renaming the law school in honor of Scalia recognizes his service, but is not an endorsement of his opinions, Cabrera wrote in the faculty letter. He also mentioned that the Charles Koch Foundation has given the university $50 million over the last decade, which amounts to 0.6 percent of the school’s average annual budget over that time period.
“I take it as one of my most important responsibilities to protect the integrity of our academic enterprise,” the letter reads. “Our donors understand that, no matter how generous they may be, they will have no authority whatsoever in our faculty selection and promotion processes, our student admissions, or our curricular choices. If that’s not acceptable to them, we simply decline the gifts.”
