How George Mason Became Koch’s Academic Darling
In the annals of George Mason University’s history, few outsiders have claim to a role so prominent as Charles G. Koch. Indeed, one can scarcely separate the story of George Mason from that of Mr. Koch, a libertarian billionaire who, along with his brother, David H. Koch, has used his fortune to try to swing elections and to emancipate markets from regulation. The Koch brothers’ war of ideas expands far across academe, where programs aligned with their political interests curry philanthropic favor, but no institution has benefited as consistently from the Koch largess as George Mason. And, arguably, no university has suffered as much criticism as a result.