A millionaire benefactor has reportedly pulled a six-figure donation from Arizona State University (ASU), citing “left-wing hostility and activism” on the school’s campus.
Tom Lewis, a real estate magnate who has donated millions to ASU over the last two decades, recently pulled back on his annual $400,000 pledge to the university’s honors college, saying he was prompted to do so by faculty condemning a staff member for organizing on-campus events featuring conservatives.
“After seeing this level of left-wing hostility and activism, I no longer had any confidence in Barrett to adhere to the terms of our gift, and made the decision to terminate our agreement,” Lewis said in a statement, according to a report by Fox News.
The Scottsdale real estate investor made his decision after an ASU faculty member said the university fired her for inviting conservative commentators PragerU founder Dennis Prager, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, and entrepreneur Robert Kiyosaki to speak on campus.
Lewis cited “left-wing hostility and activism” transpiring on campus — also among the university’s staff.
Over the past 20 years, Lewis had donated millions of dollars to ASU. He also developed the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development, which is part of the university’s Barrett, The Honors College.
Before Lewis pulled back on his annual six-figure donation, around three dozen Barrett faculty members signed a petition to the honors college dean condemning an event featuring the conservative speakers on campus.
As Breitbart News reported earlier this year, faculty members at ASU had a meltdown over the campus event, and wrote a letter to a college dean smearing the conservative speakers as “white nationalist provocateurs” and “purveyors of hate.”
Several months after the event, ASU fired Ann Atkinson, the T.W. Lewis Center’s executive director, who organized the event, Fox News reported.
“ASU claims to value freedom of expression. But in the end the faculty mob always wins against institutional protections for free speech,” Atkinson said in a statement, followers her termination.
Meanwhile, ASU insists Atkinson’s firing was not politically motivated, claiming her termination was simply due to not having enough funding for her job after Lewis pulled his donation.
“Ms. Atkinson’s current job at the university will no longer exist after June 30 because the donor who created and funded the center decided to terminate his donation,” the university, which has an endowment of $1.39 billion, said.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.