Public Outcry Ensues after State University Auctioned Off 'Academic Freedom' to the Highest Bidder: 'Gross Misuse of the Public Trust'
Mandy Carr | 07 June 2024 | The Cool Down
Oil and gas companies are donating to Louisiana State University to influence research and class curriculum, with set prices for what they get with a donation, reported the Guardian and New Orleans-based newsroom The Lens in April. According to the joint report, in 2022, Shell donated $25 million to create the Institute for Energy Innovation. This donation gave the oil company a say in the research conducted and the coursework for the university's new focus on carbon capture, use, and storage.
The university's fundraisers used that partnership to find other oil company donors. While the Institute for Energy Innovation Director, Brad Ives, denied to reporters that company donations compromised the integrity of the research, the university's fundraising arm created a document that outlines what each donation level gets, per the reporting…