Many Americans losing faith in higher education

From the earliest days of our nation, the voluntary support of charity has been one of the defining characteristics of our society.

Even in these troubled times, Americans continue to open their hearts and wallets. Last year alone, according to recently published figures from the Giving USA Foundation, Americans donated more than $240.7 billion to nonprofit organizations -- a 2.8 percent increase over the 2002 total of $234 billion.

Despite the generally rosy picture, some fund-raisers were less successful in 2003. While contributions to animal welfare, arts, consumer-protection, cultural, environmental, health, international affairs and religious organizations were all up, contributions to education were down for a second year in a row. While the 2001-2002 decline was just 1.2 percent, the 2002-2003 drop was 3 percent.

Just as a troubled company will try to rationalize its poor performance in a booming economy, the higher education establishment will have many explanations for its sub-par performance.

"Americans are distracted," some will say. "More money is going to international relief efforts because donors perceive a greater need there," others will say. Or, "We still had a successful year considering general economic conditions."

The one thing they won't discuss in public -- and the key to their problem, some of us believe -- is the matter of trust. Put simply: Many Americans are losing faith in higher education.

My sisters, cousin and I are in the middle of a highly publicized legal firestorm that helps explain why.

In 1961, my parents donated $35 million in A&P stock to start a nonprofit foundation, now known as the Robertson Foundation. The foundation's sole mission was (and still is) to support graduate studies at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in an effort to prepare students for diplomatic careers and other government positions involving international relations and foreign affairs. Today, the Robertson Foundation is worth nearly $600 million.

To my family's dismay, Princeton administrators have diverted more than $100 million from the foundation into projects, activities, people and programs that have little or nothing to do with the foundation's purpose. In 2001, for example, $13 million was used to construct a new building, Wallace Hall, which is occupied primarily by the Princeton sociology department and various social-science research centers. Robertson Foundation money also has been used to finance various non-germane research programs, for inappropriate salaries and bonuses and for alleged overhead costs that have nothing to do with the program.

Not only has Princeton diverted huge sums of money from a program with a noble and important public purpose -- preparing students for diplomatic and related federal government careers in international affairs -- the university also has done what it can to keep its use of the money out of sight.

Thanks to our lawsuit, which seeks to end Princeton's control of the Robertson Foundation and regain the improperly spent money so it can be used for its rightful purpose, Princeton can no longer hide under the cloak of academic freedom.

With more than $700 million at stake, our lawsuit is one of the largest -- if not the largest -- "donor intent" cases in U.S. legal history, and is being watched closely by the philanthropic and higher- ed communities.

Clearly, ethical or judgmental lapses of this magnitude erode public confidence. According to a 2003 survey commissioned by Charles Schwab & Company, just 10 percent of affluent Americans age 45 and older plan to leave all or part of their estates to charities, universities and other nonprofits. Many of those who intend to bequeath little or nothing to charity said they weren't confident the money would be used properly.

Just as the abuses at Enron, WorldCom and Tyco caused a public outcry and triggered a national effort to improve corporate accountability, continued abuses in the nonprofit sector will compel comparable reforms. Donors, meanwhile, will respond rationally to such scandals by giving less, giving more carefully, or giving not at all.

When a university or other nonprofit organization accepts a donation for a specific purpose -- whether it's $100 or $100 million - - the money should be used for that purpose and that purpose alone.

Our lawsuit may be one of the reasons some colleges and universities are having more difficulty raising money. If so, we apologize. But don't call us and complain. We're the victims here. If you need to complain to somebody, call Princeton.

William Robertson of Naples, Fla., a 1972 Princeton graduate, is the lead plaintiff in Robertson v. Princeton.

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