Here's another organization to do some Internet sleuthing on: the John William Pope Foundation.
This foundation wants to create what it calls a "Western cultures" program at the University of North Carolina. "The proposed program would include an academic minor in Western cultures, new honors courses, freshman seminars, undergraduate research awards and study abroad scholarships. The foundation gave the university $25,000 to study the proposal and has said it could donate up to $700,000 a year to fund it initially."
Seventy faculty members have come out against it. One professor said a recent curriculum revision revealed no need for more emphasis in Western studies. "Are we for sale, and if so, what for, and if not, what are the guidelines?" she asked.
The university's chancellor said he believes many faculty members are wary of the proposal simply because of the John William Pope Foundation's conservative values.
The Foundation's president Art Pope claims the proposal is not an attempt to influence the university's curriculum, and then says, "We're not going to let a handful of left-wing faculty stop the students from benefiting from the program."
These two statements alone make me wonder what they're up to. Just what exactly is this "Western cultures" study going to involve?
Here's the link: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050303/ap_on_re_us/unc_foundation