A former safe haven from the academic-industrial complex, Guilford College has taken the first steps towards wholesale sellout since our recent acceptance of a $500,000 gift from the BB&T Foundation.The gift money will go towards creating the following: an interdisciplinary course on the moral foundations of capitalism, a faculty-led discussion series on the writings of Ayn Rand, Paul Krugman, and other economic theorists, a principled problem solving “ethics of capitalism” scholars program, and a speakers series on the theme of sustainability and capitalism.

Even though there are inherent contradictions in the stipulated titles of the programs, the problem with this grant lies less so with the content of the conditions, and more so with the fact that this type of funding has opened the door for more intrusive and unethical grants.

When speaking of another college’s acceptance of the same grant, BB&T said, “All the professors involved in these programs believe this is an appropriate academic endeavor, completely independent of BB&T’s interest. This is ultimately an expression of academic freedom by these professors.”

This logic tells us that if both parties agree to the stipulations, the exchange must be just. This is the same logic that can justify paying terrible wages for sweatshop work. This is the same logic that can justify the pharmaceutical industry’s lurking in America’s medical schools. This is not the logic that should govern the curricula of Guilford College.

I’m not going to queue up our core values, but simply enough, Guilford is not-for-profit research institution. We should be able to fund our school while upholding a degree of autonomy in the classroom.

I am not against donations to Guilford as BB&T’s money is no more or less “bloodied” than any other form of revenue. I am not against donations with stipulations either, but when we accept a grant that stipulates what must be taught in the classroom, we are ultimately putting our education up for sale.

President Kent Chabotar maintains that this type of gift is common among other universities. Mark Justad, Director for the Center for Principled Problem Solving, said that we have taken the money with the interests of students in mind. The gift also stipulates that only one book, Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged,” must be taught. All other readings will be chosen by the professor.

But if it happens to be that a teacher and a corporation agree on a relevant reading for students, accepting a cash donation with a mandate on readings only opens up the door for iffier transactions regarding what is taught, who gets a job, and who is accepted.

How much of a say will BB&T have in the granting of tenure when the bank, as they have done at the University of Texas, buys up a chair in the philosophy department? Must the candidates for a Duke Power Scholarship Program concede that the verdict is still out on global warming in order to attend Guilford College? At what amount will a grant from Blackwater be too much to turn down?

We all chose Guilford for different reasons, but the honest academic experience was at the top of the list for many of us. I hope that Guilford has the ability, and the conscience, to retroactively turn down this grant so that future students will be able to look forward to a Guilford with true academic integrity.