March 21, 2008

Academic Freedom and Donors

To the Editor:

In "Colleges Face Ominous New Pressures on Academic Freedom" (The Chronicle, February 8), Robert M. O'Neil conjures up an image of dastardly donors who use their purse strings to infringe on the rights of colleges and universities and their faculty members. He is way off base.

Academic freedom is not the freedom to breach a legally binding contract. Universities need to resolve academic-freedom issues before they accept a gift or grant from a donor, not after the