Charles Koch gave $25m to our university. Has it become a rightwing mouthpiece?

We are student journalists at Utah State University. Our investigation found an effort to inject universities with conservative thinking
• This story is published in collaboration with the university’s student newspaper, the Utah Statesman

Alison Berg and Carter Moore in Logan, Utah
Thu 2 May 2019 11.00 BST

At first, Angel Lopez felt honored to have won the scholarship.

In 2017, the marketing student at Utah State University’s business school was named a Koch Scholar, a program sponsored by Charles Koch, the ultra-conservative billionaire. Fifteen students are given a $1,000 stipend and selected to participate in the “reading group”, tasked with reading one book a week.

But Lopez, 23, the son of Latino immigrants who aspired to become a social worker, soon felt the program was promoting a hardline brand of rightwing politics. His required readings, with titles such as Order Without Law and Anarchy Unbound, could often be boiled down to a single idea: Government is badq.

Critics say the Koch Scholars program is one example of how Charles Koch has sought to transform the Utah State business school into a libertarian mouthpiece. Over the last 10 years Koch has given millions to the university, including a $25m gift in 2017 that led to the creation of a think tank: the Center for Growth and Opportunity.

He is pursuing similar policies at schools nationwide, in what Koch officials themselves describe as a concerted effort to influence the next generation of political and business minds. “Our funding helps [scholars] follow their research wherever it may lead,” the foundation says in public materials. “We are committed to the highest standards of philanthropy.”

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