A few years ago an alumnus of Yale University named Lee Bass gave his alma mater a gift of $20 million. At that point, Bass earmarked the money for the development of a Western Civilizations Studies program. However, over the next four years Yale failed to develop any specific plans for the use of the money as well as any framework for the new programs. After numerous inquiries as to the status of the program yielded no concrete answers, Bass finally requested the return of his generous gift.
What seems to have happened since Bass originally confered his gift was that Yale was wary of implementing such a large program devoted strictly to the study of western civilizations. In modern times, there is a misconception that any study of western civilizations ignores the importance of other civilizations. Thus, Yale was afraid that if it used the $20 million for strictly Western civilization studies, it would appear that the administration was ignoring other cultures.
Now it is certainly important to always recognize the value of other cultures. Fortunately the view that the early dealings between the Native Americans and European colonists were "peaceful land negotiations" seems to be vanishing from the education of American children. We are making valuable strides in limiting an ethnocentricity that all too often has pervaded our culture.
Unfortunately, it seems that certain institutions -- in this case Yale -- have become so wary of being viewed as ethnocentric that they are willing to sacrifice additional funds such as Bass' gift. These are times when funds for education are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Recent Congressional actions have led to cuts in scholarship money as well as funding to many state universities. These actions have led to public outcry among many of the students who stand to lose out. Considering these circumstances it seems even more foolish to turn away gifts for academic pursuits.
Obviously it would have been a tenuous situation for Yale to use the money. It would be extremely important that Yale's administration handle the new Western civilizations program in such a way so that it does not appear to be promoting the idea that Western culture was superior to other cultures but rather that it was one of many that warranted study.
Certainly within their fixed budgets, universities must ensure that they appropriate money to the study of all ethnicities and cultures. Bass' gift was not part of this fixed budget. It was an additional gift and a very generous one at that. Now it is also $20 million that Yale will never get to use.
There were appropriate ways that Yale could have handled the gift so that the gift could be utilized and no culture would be slighted. Unfortunately, Yale did not deal with the situation appropriately. However, as educational funds become more and more difficult to find, we must hope that in the future no college or university, including our own, is so hypersensitive that it wastes a gift of this size.
