The word on everybody’s mind throughout the university this week is “philanthropy.” It was certainly on the mind of Lorry Lokey when he donated a whopping $74.5 million to the University yesterday. With $62 million of it going toward funding the science over the next five years, Lokey’s donation becomes the largest ever by an individual donor for academic purposes. But for those who don’t have several million dollars lying around and still want to make a positive financial impact on the university, help may be on the way.
That help will come in the form of a new tax credit system, which was signed into law by Gov. Ted Kulongoski this year. Under the new law, Oregon taxpayers who make a donation to any of the eight institutions in the Oregon University System – including the University – will be eligible for a 60 percent tax credit from the state. The catch is that only donations going toward university research and commercialization efforts will be eligible.
The way it stands to work is that individuals wishing to contribute to the university will direct their donations to the University Venture Development Fund, or UVDF. Sixty percent of that donation will then qualify as a deductible tax credit, beginning in the year that the donation was initially made. Each year that follows, the individual donor will be able to redeem up to 20 percent of his or her donation as a tax credit, and keep doing so in subsequent years, until the entirety of the eligible 60 percent is expended.
In turn, the UVDF will then allocate the donation money as it sees fit to spur commercial development. Though the bill that was passed does not allow for much flexibility as far as where the donations will ultimately be allocated, such a significant tax break will go a long way in encouraging private donations to the university. Students stand to gain as well. The added revenue the University hopes to earn will allow research and development programs to expand beyond that which would have been possible without funding. That is to say, these additional funds from the private sector will encourage entrepreneurial growth and make the University more competitive from a national standpoint.
All this talk of philanthropy brings with it a particularly worrisome dilemma, however. Though no one can deny the positive impact individual donations have had on our community, it also underscores the need to examine where and how the university is earning its revenue. As the Emerald stated in its Monday editorial, 27 percent of the University’s revenue earned during the 2006-07 school year came by way of donations and contracts. This compares with a mere 13 percent in revenue from Oregon’s state general fund. A public university should not be twice as dependent on private contributions as it is on public funding. In the long run, this only serves to narrow the scope of possibilities by which the university can allocate what funding it is able to incur.
Donations such as that made by Lokey are greatly appreciated by the University. They provide it with the funding for projects that would otherwise be unattainable. Private donations are a cornerstone of any institution’s ability to grow from within. But they are merely a stop-gap solution to the greater problem of making education more affordable for students. Sure, Lokey’s generous contribution will take the University’s science department to new levels, but will it lower the tuition for an aspiring scientist from a low-income family? Opening the door for students to make the most of their education can only come from the state. University President Dave Frohnmayer called Lokey’s contribution “an extraordinary act of philanthropy that will transform the University.” This is a true statement. But so is this: A transformed University won’t do much good if students can’t afford to enroll here.