Tainted goods: corporate gifts sometimes come with conditions

In the wake of recent state budget cuts and a faltering economy, corporate support may become increasingly important to Tufts' financial security. As gifts from businesses often come with strings attached, some observers are worrying that universities around the nation are sacrificing intellectual freedom for a piece of the corporate pie.

Corporations direct their gifts toward a number of projects at Tufts, including undergraduate financial aid, construction and renovation. The bulk of the funds, though, are concentrated on supporting faculty research and specific educational programs. The schools of engineering, medicine, and dentistry receive most of the corporate funding due to the possibilities for profits arising from patents and licenses.

At the graduate schools, corporations often set up clinical trials and testing agreements to further both academic and financial goals. The medical school frequently receives corporate support, and firms are currently funding research to develop a vaccine for the Epstein-Barr virus and drugs for Type II diabetes. At the Human Nutrition Research Center, several companies are currently sponsoring research on micronutrients and phytochemicals.

Tufts' Veterinary School currently receives sponsorship from biotech companies interested in animal health, but it may be forced to seek a larger proportion of its budget from corporations after it recently lost $3.6 million in state funds.

Businesses fund over $170 million worth of university research per year in New England alone, according to a recent article in Connection, the journal of the New England Board of Higher Education.

The fruits of partnership between businesses and universities are sometimes quite juicy. At Boston College, marketing professor Bert Mendelsohn worked with Joe Crugnale, owner of the pizzeria chain Bertucci's, to improve the businesses' revenues as part of a class project. The market research that Mendelsohn's students conducted helped Bertucci's develop into a $103 million business, Connection reported.

But some observers find such agreements to be troubling. "There's been a drift from philanthropy into marketing [in higher education]," said Gary Ruskin of Commercial Alert, a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping "the commercial culture within its proper sphere," according to its website. "Only philanthropy" is an appropriate relationship between businesses and educational institutions, Ruskin told Connection.

Yet corporate support may become even more important due to cuts in the state and federal education budgets. Other Massachusetts schools, particularly the large research universities, are already earning millions from partnerships with businesses. The University of Massachusetts, which has suffered greatly from the recent state budget cuts, brought in almost $15 million in technology licenses and royalties during fiscal year 2002.

But because businesses sometimes ask for more than just recognition in return for their gifts, corporate gifts sometimes come with stipulations, such as in the agreement between the University of Kentucky and Nike. Nike has reserved the right to terminate the $25 million deal if "the University disparages the Nike brand," Connection reported.

Such agreements can have real effects on student life and intellectual freedom at colleges and universities. At Kent State, a student chapter of Amnesty International has been repeatedly denied funding because the group criticizes Coca-Cola, a company that sponsors the university.

At Tufts, university officials are careful not to sacrifice academic freedom in exchange for corporate sponsorship, according to Nina Green, director of the Office of Technology Transfer. The standard agreement between researchers and businesses sponsoring research at Tufts grants companies the ability to negotiate a license or patent for inventions that are produced, while the university retains publishing rights, Green said.

"We won't sign anything that would prohibit us from publishing freely," Green said. "That's the number one policy rule."

Most research agreements take place in labs where there are at least four or five people to perform the research. Some undergraduates -- especially engineers -- get a chance to work on research sponsored by businesses. In the Mechanical Engineering Department, Professor Chris Rogers works with a number of corporations, including LEGO, Steinway & Sons, Selmer Instruments, Intel, and Cabot.

"There are a ton of students -- almost all undergraduates -- that are involved" in the project with LEGO, Rogers said in an e-mail. Rogers' work with LEGO has led the Engineering School to develop new courses and involves engineering students with local communities, where they work with elementary school teachers and parents. The research also has an international aspect: over a million children a year use the software Rogers helped develop, which has been translated into over 14 languages.

Rogers also works with Steinway & Sons and Selmer Instruments, which finance the purchase of equipment for the Musical Instrument Engineering Program, a project that studies the mechanics of constructing musical instruments. The program has brought together students and professors with interests in fluid mechanics, acoustics, material engineering, and music composition.

Tufts often relies on existing connections to attract support from corporations. The University publicizes its strengths in areas of interest to businesses and often works with Tufts alumni, according to Assistant Director of Public Relations Siobhan Houton. In recent years, Raytheon, Intel, DuPont, Hewlett-Packard, Roche Vitamins, and Kraft General Foods have all made gifts to the University, Houton said.