FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - The faculty senate at Virginia's largest university has adopted a resolution seeking disclosure of the school's donor agreements after revelations that some agreements gave the conservative Charles Koch Foundation a say in the hiring of some professors.
The senate at George Mason University has for years been debating academic independence and raising questions about the school's arrangements with the foundation, which donates millions of dollars annually to Mason.
Last week the school released some agreements under a Freedom of Information Act request. The documents show the Koch Foundation enjoyed the right to appoint members of a selection committee that could recommend professors for appointment at the Mercatus (merr-KAY'-tiss) Center, a free-market think tank at Mason.
A university spokesman said Mason President Angel Cabrera is eager to work with the senate.
