Liberal scholars protest Koch Foundation grant to Catholic University

December 16, 2013

A group of 50 scholars have joined in a public statement questioning a $1 million grant to the Catholic University of America from the Charles Koch Foundation.

The Koch Foundation, which has a history of supporting conservative and libertarian causes, gave the grant to Catholic university for a program of research on entrepreneurship. The protesters raised questions about what they saw as “the stark contrast between the Koch brothers’ public-policy agenda and our Church’s traditional social justice teachings.”

In a spirited response, Catholic University said that the public protest was “an unfortunate effort to manufacture controversy and score political points,” and characterized the signatories as “arbiters of political correctness.”

The protest against the Koch grant was signed by a number of Catholic University faculty members, and by other prominent scholars including Father Stephen Privett, the president of the University of San Francisco; and Miguel Diaz, the University of Dayton professor who recently stepped down from his role as US ambassador to the Vatican.

 

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Further information:

• 50 educators sign letter to Catholic University protesting Koch Foundation’s $1 million gift (Washington Post)
• Koch brothers’ donation to Catholic University stirs protests (Religion News)