Another university abuses donor intent: Years ago, Fisk University accepted a collection of art from Georgia O’Keefe. It agreed to certain rules about how the art would be displayed and also to keep the collection together. Today, however, the school would rather cash out by selling a portion of the collection. So it has reached an agreement, via a legal settlement that involved the attorney general of Tennessee, that will almost certainly result in a violation of O’Keefe’s original donor intent. It’s another cautionary tale for anybody who wants to support a college or university with an endowment-level gift–there’s a decent chance that your wishes will be violated, especially after you’re dead and not able to complain.
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About the Author
John J. Miller, a former national correspondent for National Review, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.
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