(New York Post) Billionaires who have grown disgusted by disruptive anti-Israel protests across US college campuses are abandoning their elite alma maters — and instead backing a new, “anti-woke” university in Texas that has just 92 students, according to a report.
Wall Street trader Jeff Yass, real-estate tycoon Harlan Crow and investor Len Blavatnik are just a few of the deep-pocketed donors flooding the University of Austin, or UATX, with about $200 million so far, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Yass alone has given $35 million to the tiny school – which is currently housed in a former department store, the Journal said.
Crow – a major GOP donor and close friend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas – said he expects the new university to encourage ideological diversity.
“Much of higher ed today seems to want to reject Western accomplishments and the accomplishments of Western civilizations in their entirety,” he told the Journal. “Many people think that’s a bad idea.”
Along with his wife, Kathy, Crow has hosted events for the school at their Dallas home and has let the school use space in an office park he owns for its “Forbidden Courses” summer program.
The contrarian university received a flood of contributions as conservative activists became fed up with unruly pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country.
Billionaires threatened to withhold sizable donations from their elite alma maters. Donors and politicians signed petitions to oust administrative leaders.
It explains UATX’s appeal as a nonpartisan, “truth-telling” institution. The college welcomed its inaugural class of first-years last month.
To start, the school is offering three types of programs: economics, politics and history; English and creative writing; and data science and computer science, according to the Austin-American Statesman.
Pano Kanelos, founding president of the university and former president of St. John’s College in Maryland, said each student will work on a Polaris Project – a four-year assignment that must address a societal need.
A promotional video on the school’s YouTube page shows pro-Palestinian encampments at other colleges alongside a seminar at the University of Austin.“They burn, we build,” a message says at the end of the video.
Plans to open the school were announced in fall 2021.
The school’s founders include venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale and journalist Bari Weiss.
Lonsdale co-founded Palantir Technologies and is donating to former president Donald Trump. Weiss previously worked at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times and has since founded the Free Press, an independent newsletter.
