In 2007, a group of U of T professors wanted to name the health studies program after Tommy Douglas, commonly referred to as the father of Canada’s public health care program. Administration told them to raise $2 million.
The Trouble with Billionaires is a 250-page book published last month and written by Toronto Star columnist Linda McQuaig and Osgoode Hall tax law professor Neil Brooks.
Their main idea: creative tax restructuring can replace a culture of gluttony. McQuaig and Brooks argue that public funding has eroded in the past three decades, leading to a profit-driven society where some are massively rich while others have no power.
Seven pages of the book focus on U of T, which were summarized in an abridged excerpt in the Star and discussed in a Wall Street Journal blog. Using U of T as an example, the two argue that universities and other public institutions, under-funded by governments, are forced to seek private sector funding, resulting in influence and praise for the rich.
The co-authors cite an increasing number of buildings being named after donors as opposed to intellectuals. Their prime example involves the new Munk School of Global Affairs.
Earlier this year, businessman Peter Munk, the founder of mining company Barrick Gold, announced a $35 million donation enabling U of T to open the school. But his donation will only be $19 million or less after tax deductions, allowing for a school to be named after him despite only funding less than a third of its $66 million cost.
In multiple interviews, U of T administrators have stressed that academic freedom will not be compromised by such donations. But the co-authors insist future donors will be discouraged if research unfavourable to contributors is pursued.
McQuaig spoke with The Varsity about her concerns, claiming she saw a copy of the agreement between Munk and U of T after the book was sent to print.
“[It] indicated pretty clearly that Munk will, if he wants to, have some influence over the [School of Global Affairs],” alleged McQuaig. “In the agreement, it shows that the director has to report to the Munk ward every year, and kind of account for what’s going on.
“A very significant [quantity] of the money that Munk is giving is going to be given down the road; U of T doesn’t get it all right away. So that gives Munk a great deal of potential leeway because he has the right to withhold that payment if the school doesn’t meet his standards.”
David Palmer, VP advancement, the office that manages donations, wrote a rebuttal to the book’s excerpt in the Star, criticizing its “utter disregard for the fact that philanthropy has been a cornerstone of public institutions” while ignoring the “lives and opportunities [being] transformed as a result of the selfless generosity of others.
“Every donor agreement includes this clause in its preamble: ‘Whereas the parties affirm their mutual commitment to the University’s Statement of Institutional Purpose, which includes a commitment to foster an academic community in which the learning and scholarship of every member may flourish, with vigilant protection for the rights of freedom of speech, academic freedom and freedom of research.’”
Last Tuesday, McQuaig and Brooks presented their arguments and responded to questions at an event held at Ryerson University.
“I did suggest the event to U of T as well, but they did not express interest,” said Barbara Bower, the book’s publicist. “Perhaps it was a clash of ideologies.”
The university’s spokesperson declined to respond to Bower’s comment.
Biology professor Paul Hamel is quoted in the book as one of the organizers of the 2007 Tommy Douglas renaming campaign. The group was told they need $2 million in pledged donations in order for a renaming to be approved. Hamel lamented that U of T used to name its buildings after prominent intellectuals, “but now universities know that they have to reserve those places in order to help the funding.”
Hamel said his department wanted to name itself after Douglas to convey its social justice focus. He said donors with altruistic intentions should mimic Hal Jackman, a former U of T chancellor and continuous donor who has never had a building or program named after him.
Hamel admitted that universities are not receiving enough government funding. “I don’t agree with their approach, but I understand it,” he said.
