University of Missouri Sued for Failing to Hire Conservative Economists

Epoch Times:

The University of Missouri is being sued by Michigan-based Hillsdale College for allegedly failing to honor the wishes of a late benefactor who willed the university $5 million to fund six professorships on the express condition they be held by believers in laissez-faire economics.

Financier Sherlock Hibbs, who died at age 98 on July 5, 2002, graduated from the University of Missouri—which is often referred to as Mizzou—in 1926.

To guarantee his donor intent was respected after his death, Hibbs created an enforcement mechanism. Under it, Mizzou would have to certify to Hillsdale every four years that each professorship—three chairs and three distinguished professorships—was populated by “a dedicated and articulate disciple of the Ludwig von Mises (Austrian) School of Economics.” If the condition went unmet, the remaining money would be forfeited to Hillsdale.

Hillsdale has a special connection to Mises, the Austro-Hungarian-born author of “The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality” and “Human Action,” whose writings bolstered the libertarian movement in the United States and who died in 1973. The economist donated his personal library to the college, where it is available to researchers.

Hillsdale is a small liberal arts school in southern Michigan that is renowned for its emphasis on teaching American civic virtue and the nation’s Greco-Roman-Judeo-Christian roots, as well as for resisting political correctness in the academy. Founded in 1844, Hillsdale is known for its principled refusal to accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies, even indirectly in the form of student grants or loans. read more