To the Editor:

It is my understanding from an article written in the Asheville Citizen Times that Western Carolina University is considering the establishment of a Center for the Study of Free Enterprise at Western Carolina University. I also understand that this center would be established with $2 million in seed money coming from the Charles Koch Foundation.

As both an alumnus and a former faculty member of WCU, I have some questions and concerns. It is my understanding that the Charles Koch Foundation will provide $2 million in seed money to get the center going. I also note that the estimated budget for the new center will be $3.4 million per year. 

For the first year, where is this other $1.4 million to come from? The article quotes Dr. Edward Lopez, BB&T Distinguished Professor of Capitalism, as stating that the center will become self-supporting.  What is the time estimation on this and how much of the university budget of WCU will be tied up over this period of time until it does become self-sufficient? 

And thirdly, if the center is to become self-supporting, where is this money to come from?  We are looking at a cost of $1.4 million the first year and $3.4 million each year thereafter until such time as it becomes self-sustaining, whenever that might be.

Several years ago, WCU was offered money by a large bank (BB&T if I remember correctly), but with it came the caveat the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand had to be required reading. It was rejected by the Faculty Senate at that time as it rightly should have been. The educational policy of an educational institution does not need to be established by outside influence from non-educational institutions that are promoting their own economic and sometimes political agenda. All ideas should be open to discussion and inspection in classes at a university. I don’t know if the money from the Charles Koch Foundation comes with any strings or not. I think that is only part of the problem.

The public perception of the acceptance of this money will be damaging to the reputation of Western Carolina University. Faculty and staff have not received appreciable cost-of-living raises since 2008. The University of North Carolina system recently gave major raises to the majority of the chancellors of the system. I do not begrudge Dr. Belcher his increase. He was underpaid to begin with and is well worth the increase, but the public perception is bad. Tie this to the fact that the new president of the University of North Carolina system was obviously a political appointee, and that the self-sustaining Center on Work, Poverty, and Opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill was closed within the past year, again for obvious political reasons, it gives indications of the politicization of the University of North Carolina system, at least in the public mind.

I am not sure that Western Carolina University wants to be a part of this perceived politicization. At least I know as an alumnus that this is something that I would not like to see happen. 

Luther Jones

Sylva