The London School of Economics rarely finds itself in the same company as Nelly Furtado. However, like the Canadian singer, its relationship with Libya has given rise to controversy.
The school quickly moved to suspend its links with the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, run by Saif Gaddafi, son of Muammar Gaddafi.
But this swift action failed to protect it from a torrent of criticism and last week its director, Howard Davies, resigned. “I advised the council that it was reasonable to accept the money and that has turned out to be a mistake,” he said.
An independent inquiry will now examine the school’s links with Libya and will establish guidelines for international donations to the university.
But the school is not the only university to face criticism over links with Tripoli.
Liverpool John Moores is facing questions after The Liverpool Echo reported claims that the university signed research contracts amounting to just under £1.3-million.
But Professor Michael Brown, its vice-chancellor, told the paper that the partnership with Libya never got off the ground. “We’ve nothing to be embarrassed of whatsoever and our work in Libya was about improving medical facilities, which are woeful,” he said. “You have to differentiate between a government you don’t approve of and helping the people.”
It’s not the first time donations have stirred up controversy. Professor Anthony Glees of the University of Buckingham claimed three years ago in a report for the Centre for Social Cohesion that the Saudi government and other private sources had been systematically focusing funding on Islamic and Middle Eastern studies departments that were most critical of Western foreign policy, distorting scholarship.
In the United States the foundation of a chair in economics by the former Enron boss, Ken Lay, at his alma mater turned into a nightmare for the University of Missouri. It was unable to find an appropriate candidate to fill the chair for several years, during which time it became a standing joke. The head of the economics department at the time said: “It’s not like it’s the Osama bin Laden chair.”
In fact, other members of the Bin Laden family donated substantial sums to Harvard and Tufts universities in the 1990s.
Dr Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said all universities should sign up to institutional codes on ethics and accountability. “A committee with student and staff representation could then be tasked with vetting substantial donations,” she said. —