universities

Book Profile, Philanthropy
Philanthropy’s Corruption of Politics, and Vice Versa
From his perspective as a University of Oxford political philosopher, Theodore M. Lechterman has introduced a richly substantive critique of philanthropy’s anti-democratic nature to the rising number of such critiques…
by Michael E. Hartmann on November 29, 2024

Book Profile
Participatory Philanthropy in Grantmaking Examines Shift Away from Top-Down Power of Elite Foundations
Participatory Grantmaking in Philanthropy: How Democratizing Decision-Making Shifts Power to Communities, forthcoming in December from Georgetown University Press, features several case studies of and perspectives on what its proponents call…
by Michael E. Hartmann on November 27, 2024

Organization Trends
InfluenceWatch Friday
The information compiled in InfluenceWatch gives news outlets and other interested parties to use this research in future reporting on significant topics that are often overlooked by the American public.
by Jonathan Harsh on January 19, 2024

Organization Trends
The New Face Behind the Confucius Institutes
Confucius Institutes have been controversial since they first opened in the United States in 2012, provoking massive pushback from the public over their influence in universities. At first glance the…
by Sam Cantor on December 9, 2022

Philanthropy
A Conversation with Notre Dame Law School’s Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer (Part 2 of 2)
Professor Mayer, a scholar of nonprofit and election law, talks to Michael E. Hartmann about past and potential future cross-ideological overlap in the critique of establishment philanthropy, non-exempt vehicles for wealthy…
by Michael E. Hartmann on February 21, 2022

Philanthropy
A Conversation with Notre Dame Law School’s Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer (Part 1 of 2)
Notre Dame Law School Professor Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a scholar of nonprofit and election law, talks to Michael E. Hartmann about what should and shouldn’t be considered a subsidy for charities,…
by Michael E. Hartmann on February 21, 2022

Philanthropy
Jennifer Bird-Pollan’s Examination of Tax on University Endowments has Implications for Philanthropy
University of Kentucky law professor Jennifer Bird-Pollan’s in-depth examination of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017’s first-time excise tax on the investment income of certain college and university endowments in the Pepperdine…
by Michael E. Hartmann on July 26, 2021

Deception & Misdirection
China’s Propaganda War and How to Stop It
When President Richard Nixon took a chance on normalizing relations with China in 1972 after a quarter century of diplomatic freeze, China to most Americans was just a Third World…
by Sarah Lee on June 11, 2021

Organization Trends
71% Favor Taxing Endowment Income of Wealthy Universities and Foundations
Seventy-one percent (71%) of voters believe elite universities and nonprofit foundations should pay taxes on their endowment income, according to a Scott Rasmussen national survey of 1,500 registered voters released yesterday. The…
by Michael E. Hartmann on June 3, 2021

Organization Trends
The Confucius Institutes and CCP Propaganda on College Campuses
In January, Biden’s Department of Homeland Security dropped a proposed rule by the Trump administration that would have required universities to disclose their agreements with Confucius Institutes. Confucius Institutes are…
by Sarah Lee on March 1, 2021