The 21st Show

The connection between corporate money and university ag schools

Produced by Ryan Andrew Wilde and Dana Cronin
 

Photo: Crysta Henthorne/KCUR

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Large donors can put universities in potentially awkward positions when faculty conclusions conflict with the interests of those benefactors. Data collected by Harvest Public Media and Investigate Midwest show corporations have given at least $170 million to Ag colleges in the past decade, but there are concerns about what private corporations funding public research universities can mean for its influence over Ag schools: what type of research gets done, who it serves, and the school’s independence from the main corporate funders compared to the schools' need for funding. We were joined by journalists from Harvest Public Media and Investigate Midwest to talk about their work on the investigation.

Here are links to the stories:

Part I: Corporate money keeps university ag schools ‘relevant,’ and makes them targets of donor criticism

Part II: A giant investment firm paid a university to study one of its biggest assets — farmland

Part III: As tax dollars dry up, university ag schools turn to agribusiness dollars and industry projects

 

GUESTS:

Dana Cronin

Agriculture reporter for Illinois Public Media and Harvest Public Media

Katie Peikes 

Reporter for Iowa Public Radio and Harvest Public Media

Sky Chadde

Managing Editor of Investigate Midwest

 

 

Prepared for web by Owen Henderson

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