Major Donor Urges University Officials To ‘Play The Race Card’ Like Dems Do

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Ohio University students and faculty are calling on administrators to cut ties with a major school donor and strip his name from the communication school after he urged administrators to “play the race card” against opponents of plans to lease a new residence for the university’s African-American president.

“I think we should handle it the same way the Democrats do every time the Republicans attack President Obama…They label them racists,” Steven Schoonover, a member of the OU Foundation Board, wrote in an April 2 email to top school officials. “So if you are worried about the petition by the faculty just play the race card and call them racists and make them defend themselves!”

Schoonover was strategizing about how to discredit faculty members and “loudmouths” criticizing plans to lease a $1.2 million home for university President Roderick McDavis, who is black. McDavis and his wife were forced to leave the school’s on-campus residence in March due a bat problem.

“Seriously we have to stand up for what is right and the decision to buy that housefor [sic] the Presidents of Ohio University is the right decision,” he continued.

After an open records request by The Athens News brought the email to light, faculty and students called for Schoonover’s resignation, along with his name to be removed from all university buildings.

In 2007, Schoonover donated $7.5 million to build a new communication school, which bears his name. It was the single largest cash gift given to the university by a living alumnus at the time.

A petition from the Ohio University Student Union did not mince words, calling for Schoonover – and two other trustees who seemed to endorse his ideas – to resign, while also adopting transparency measures.

Joe McLaughlin, an associate English professor, told the Columbus Post-Dispatch, the emails are symptomatic of the privatization of higher education.

“It’s just like money and politics,” he said. “It’s like the Koch brothers, that’s exactly what’s going on here. …This guy should have absolutely nothing to do with anything at Ohio University.”

A university spokeswoman responded to TPM’s request for comment with the same one-line statement provided to other local outlets: “Mr. Schoonover made his remarks to express his personal opinion on the matter.” The spokeswoman did not respond to specific questions about whether the university would continue its relationship with Schoonover.

Schoonover did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read Schoonover’s full email exchange, via The Athens News:

Correction: This story incorrectly stated that the Post broke the news of Schoonover’s remarks after a public records request. It was actually The Athens News, another local paper, that first reported the story. We regret the error.

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