Illinois Mandates Public Disclosure of Gifts to State Universities by Foreign Governments or Persons

Illinois has become the first state to mandate public disclosure of gifts made to state universities by foreign governments or foreign persons, according to the midwest office of the American Jewish Congress here.

“In enacting Public Act 83-0641, Illinois has taken substantial steps to protect its schools from becoming educational conduits for the prejudices or biases of certain foreign donors,” said Sylvia Neil, midwest legal director for the AJCongress. She cited gifts from Arab nations as an example.

The AJCongress developed the disclosure legislation which resulted in Public Act 83-0641. The Act requires disclosure for all monies in excess of $100,000 made to state institutions of higher education by foreign governments or individuals. The source and purpose of each gift, and any conditions on its use, are included in the disclosure.

Recently, many foreign financial gifts to American universities have been made with conditional strings attached. Arab nations have endowed millions of dollars to various American academic institutions which has often resulted in discrimination against Jewish faculty, exclusion of Israeli professors, donor control over the academic curriculum and donor designation of faculty appointments with strong anti-Israel biases, the AJCongress said.

“We trust Public Act 83-0641 will help prevent discriminatory practices against faculty and students or illegitimate restraints on academic freedom that are often conditional with money grants received from abroad,” said Ms. Neil.

THE BIAS OF PETRO-DOLLARS

One example of an attempt to import the bias of petro-dollars to the Midwest occurred via the Midwest Consortium for International Activities. The Consortium, which includes the University of Illinois, entered into a contract with Saudi Arabia. When the Saudis refused to give a Jewish professor from Michigan State University a visa, the Consortium cancelled the contract, Ms. Neil said.

Not all recipients of foreign monies have been so willing to give up funds when issues of academic integrity or discrimination have surfaced. Universities known to have received large grants of money with questionable strings attached from Arab nations include such schools as Harvard University, University of Southern California, Georgetown University and New York University, Ms. Neil said.

The precise number of schools receiving foreign monies, and any conditions or restrictions placed on the use of such grants remains difficult to ascertain because disclosure is not mandated throughout the country.