Several alumni are considering withholding their annual donations, a total of $335,000, in response to the university decision to honor former President George W. Bush with the Global Service Award.
According to alumnus Jim Wildt, (CPA / BSBA ’74, MBA ’77), ten alumni have reached out to Chancellor Robert Coombe to tell him they may reconsider their annual gift to DU.
Wildt contacted several fellow alumni last week regarding Korbel’s plans to honor Bush with the Global Service Award at the annual Korbel Dinner, where he is scheduled to be the keynote speaker.
“Giving it to someone like (George Bush)…it’s going to devalue the award,” said Wildt.
There are no plans to rescind the award.
“Part of what we do at the University of Denver is to present multiple points of view and promote civil discourse among diverse individuals,” said Kim DeVigil, senior director of communications, in a statement. “The University of Denver and Josef Korbel School encourage debate and sharing of knowledge and we appreciate the respectful discussion about the dinner and award among all members of our community, including our alumni, students, faculty and staff.”
The decision to present Bush with the award, initially titled the Improving the Human Condition Award, has been a topic of debate since it was announced in late June.
Wildt said that when he heard about the decision, he reached out to several alumni to tell them the university plans to honor Bush. He emphasized that, for him, the decision was not a political one, but he wanted to encourage fellow alumni to share their opinions on the choice.
“I called a few people and said ‘you may want to let the Chancellor know your opinion,’” Wildt said. “The people who have these commitments –they’re heavy hitters.”
Since the announcement that Bush will be the keynote speaker and honoree at the dinner, hundreds of students, alumni and faculty members have protested the decision. An online petition encouraging Korbel dean Christopher Hill to change the name of the award, which has accumulated 1,533 signatures as of Monday, prompted the university to change the official name to the Global Service Award on July 11.
However, many protesters have continued to say the new name is too similar to the original Improving the Human Condition Award. Many others are encouraging the university to rescind the invitation to Bush to speak at all.
“Since the inception of the Korbel Dinner in the late 90’s it is tradition to pay tribute to the keynote speaker. Since 2007 we have been honoring speakers with an award that recognizes the speaker’s individual contributions to global society. The award name depends on the contribution,” said DeVigil.
In previous years, the university has presented 2012 speaker Walter Isaacson with the Global Advancement Award, 2011 speaker Ban Ki-moon with the Global Leadership Award and 2010 speaker Condoleezza Rice, a DU graduate, with the Outstanding Alumnae Award.
“In keeping with this tradition, and as appropriate, this year we will give the Global Service Award to George W. Bush for his presidential and post-presidential work in Africa on AIDS, cervical cancer and malaria.” DeVigil said.
Wildt said he may also consider adjusting his annual donation.
“He (Bush) would not be my first choice, and to give awards based on who gives the most money, that’s a mistake,” said Wildt. “Ideally they’d have invited someone who fits the description of the award. And I don’t think he fits the description of the award.”
“DUs so much more,” he said. “We don’t need to have this little embarrassment there.”
