UnKoch My Campus!

UnKoch My Campus!

In the fight for academic integrity "UnKoch My Campus" is quickly gaining traction across the country.

In the fight for academic integrity “UnKoch My Campus” is quickly gaining traction across the country.

Founded in 2012, this student movement shines a light on Charles and David Koch’s many donations to universities, and the demands and restrictions that often come with them.

Students are fighting for greater transparency and accountability of university donors who, like the Koch brothers, use public and private universities as a tool for business and ideological investments. 

Funneled through their various charitable foundations, the Koch brothers have given nearly $70,000,000 to over 300 universities between 2005 and 2013. Their actions received national attention when, in 2011, news broke that the Charles G. Koch Foundation had donated $1.5 billion to Florida State University’s economics department — with just one catch: new faculty additions would have to be Koch-approved, or the donation would be withdrawn.

Meanwhile, University of Kansas students are battling a $35,000 lawsuit after a Koch ally sued to stop the release of information regarding 2014 donations to the school from the Charles G. Koch Foundation.

As donations from the Koch Brothers encroach on students’ academic freedom from undue ideological influence, unaccountability of donors, and an alarming lack of transparency in the academic process, communities across the nation are voicing their concerns and acting upon their knowledge.

Regardless of ideology, any private enterprise that manipulates universities and education for profitable gain must be held accountable for their actions. In growing numbers, the “UnKoch My Campus” movement is fighting to ensure that universities are accountable to their students – not the billionaires who fund them.

See More: Money & Influence