Nov. 11, 2014 - Issue 11

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The Review The University of Delaware’s independent student newspaper since 1882

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2014 VOLUME 141, ISSUE 10

FOR BREAKING NEWS AND MORE VISIT UDREVIEW.COM

University donations include gifts from corporate partners JAY PANANDIKER News Assignment Editor In the 2014 fiscal year, over 37,000 donors contributed money to the university through annual giving. Gifts can range from small alumni gifts, to millions of dollars donated by corporations and foundations. In total, the donations added up to $63.9 million. In 2014, 45 percent of the amount raised came from individuals while 37 percent came from corporate donations. The largest corporate donors to the university include DuPont and WhitingTurner Contracting Company. Over 800 corporations and foundations donated to the university in fiscal year 2013, according to the President’s Report on Philanthropy. Among the companies that donated, several maintain business relationships with the university, including PepsiCo, Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., Pepco Holdings and Aramark. University Giving Monica Taylor, vice president for Development & Alumni Relations, said donations to the university are necessary because tuition does not cover all the school’s expenses. “The work we do within our entire operation is to fill up the gap, and make up the difference that tuition dollars and other dollars are not doing,” Taylor said. The donated funds can have direct and indirect effects on the students, Taylor said. Direct benefits include donations for scholarships and financial aid for tuition and study abroad. More indirect benefits could be corporations or individuals funding endowed professorships. “It enables the university to attract and retain some of the best faculty minds possible,” Taylor said. Most of the Development Office’s focus is on individual donations, and a few companies approach the university about donating,

Taylor said. “The relationship is typically one where we will work with companies to ask for support of the university and various units within the university,” she said. While individual donations are traditionally larger than the amount donated by corporations, numbers in 2013 were equal due to a large donation from JPMorgan Chase. JP Morgan’s donation funds the JP Morgan Innovation Center as well as the financial service analytics Ph.D. program. The $16.6 million donation was the largest corporate donation to the university for a specific program, and made the company the largest corporate donor in the history of the school. More recently, the company has donated $2.5 million to expand Purnell Hall. Depending on the relationship between the company and the university, donations can be earmarked for specific programs or contribute to the general fund, Taylor said. Companies more often donate to specific programs than to the general fund, she said. A number of companies, including major donor Exxon Mobil, also have matching gift programs, meaning that if an employee donates money to the school, their corporate employer will match the gift, Taylor said. The Donors A broad range of corporations donates to the university each year, ranging from investment and accounting firms to petrochemical companies. Donations range from a couple hundred dollars to millions. Some corporate donations fund endowed fellowships, others are from future employers and some are from outside vendors with presences on campus, including Whiting-Turner, Aramark and Pepsi. Accounting and law professor Sheldon Pollack said when a corporation donates to the university, they should not

expect anything in return. Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, which handles many of the construction projects for the university, made the one of the two largest corporate donations. Currently the company is building the Academy St. Dining and Residence Hall as well as the expansion to Purnell Hall. Whiting-Turner was the contractor for the ISE Lab and the Independence Complex. Aramark is the operator of the university dining facilities, and Pepsi is the exclusive beverage provider on campus. Whiting-Turner’s 2013 donation was in the range of $1 million to $5 million, according to the President’s Report on Philanthropy. “Nobody gives you over a million dollars and doesn’t expect something in exchange,” Pollack said. Pollack said the flipside is that the company may get repeat contracts because they do a good construction job or have competitive prices. A representative for Tim Regan, CEO of Whiting-Turner, said the details of the company’s donations are private and confidential. University spokeswoman Andrea Boyle said such confidentiality standards are common across higher education, and fully comply with the standards set forth by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. In 2010, WhitingTurner donated $5 million of unrestricted funds to the university, according to a UDaily report at the time. A portion was directed towards the construction of the ISE Lab. The university’s Office of Facilities Planning and Auxiliary Services manages many of the contracts with outside vendors, including those with WhitingTurner, Aramark and Pepsi. Alan Brangman, vice president of Facilities, Real Estate & Auxiliary Services, said the Whiting-Turner case is not unique within the university. In a small state like Delaware, many contractors may also be donating to the university, which is not unusual, Brangman said. Brangman said situations like this are common at

UD DONATIONS 2013

2014

36%

45%

of the amount raised by donations came from individuals.

of the amount raised by donations came from individuals.

37%

36% of the amount raised by donations came from corporations, in part due to large donation from JP Morgan Chase

of the amount raised by donations came from corporations.

In 2013:

Pepco Holdings, Inc donated <$49,000 owner of Delmarva Power/university electricity provider

Aramark donated $50,000-100,000

food service: operates the university dining halls and food courts

Whiting Turner Contracting Company donated $1 million-$5 million

building Purnell expansion, ISE Lab, Academy St. Dining and Residence Hall

KRISTA ADAMS/THE REVIEW The university receives donations from thousands of donors, dominated by some companies that have a very large presence on campus. universities nationwide. He said he does not think having vendors and contractors donate money is a problem, because they are required to disclose donations to the school. “The key is to understand that there are those potential conflicts, and make sure that those conflicts don’t get in the way of business relationships,” Brangman said. Brangman said there is a process that companies go through when the university signs contracts with vendors and contractors. The university will issue a Request For Proposal (RFP) and various contractors or vendors will pitch their proposals to a selection committee, he said. The committee includes

between three and 13 university officials, including representatives from facilities, construction and stakeholders in the project. Several factors are considered including cost and the university’s previous relationships with the company, Brangman said. Whether or not the company donated to the school is not considered, he said. “If there is any potential for conflict of interest or any favoritism given to a company because they are a donor, that’s not the way we would go,” Brangman said. “I would argue, that’s not the way to do business.”

See BRANGMAN page 3

Standard of proof in sexual assault cases debated by professors MATT BUTLER Managing News Editor

BLUE HEN YEARBOOK Dickinson Hall C in 1975, one of the earliest West Campus residents.

West Campus to close after next semester CADY ZUVICH Executive Editor The university announced last week the official closing of Rodney and Dickinson residence complexes, eliminating West Campus in its entirety. The plan to close Rodney Residence Hall and Rodney Dining Hall was revealed last April with the intention of keeping Dickinson Hall open. The updated plan, announced Nov. 6 by university spokesperson Andrea Boyle, will now close all of West Campus come May 2015. “The complexes will be shuttered, as both are reaching the end of their

useful life as high quality housing,” Boyle stated in a press release. Rodney Hall opened in 1966 as the first residence hall with air conditioning. Dickinson Hall opened two years later as home to the Honors Program. According to Residence Life and Housing surveys, students in Dickinson and Rodney make 20 to 30 personal connections at the end of their freshmen years, making them historically known as two of the university’s most social dorms. Have West Campus memories you’d like to share? Send them to theudreview@ gmail.com

NEWS 3

The university’s attempt to revitalize and improve its Title IX adherence was on full display Monday night at a faculty open hearing called in order to allow faculty to voice their concerns on new guidelines undertaken by the Faculty Welfare and Privileges Committee. Over the past several months, the university has seen the topic brought to its doorstep after being placed on a list of 85 universities under investigation by the federal government for Title IX violations. The topic has loomed even larger since the revelations of sexual harassment claims made against sociology professor Eric Tranby, who is now on a leave of absence. Faculty members discussed the balance of building a safe student environment while trying to avoid handing over too much power to university administration. At the core of this balance –– as it became apparent throughout the meeting –– is the utilization of preponderance of evidence versus the clear and convincing standard when dealing with allegations of sexual misconduct against a faculty member. The preponderance of evidence allows for lower standard of proof when

POLITICS 4

deciding the verdict in sexual assault cases, typical in civil court decisions. The revisions will have their fates decided during the December Faculty Senate meeting when they are up for a senate-wide vote. Larry White of the university’s General Counsel, said more and more universities are being compelled by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR)––a federal agency in the Department of Education––to revise their sexual misconduct procedural guidelines to use preponderance of evidence. Philosophy professor George Draper said the school

should consider taking the government to court over the Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX, and he believes they would win. He said faculty members are already not afforded as much protection in the university setting as other alleged offenders are, and this lessens those protections further. “I do think that the standard of preponderance of evidence is way too low when it comes to something like faculty dismissal,” Draper said. “I think strongly that the clear and convincing evidence standard is appropriate.” See TURKEL page 3

KIRK SMITH/THE REVIEW Professors debated federal standards for when universities handle sexual assault cases.

EDITORIAL 7

SPORTS 14


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