including the venerable University of North Carolina, as the result of a series of grants by the former chairman of BB & T Bank who believes that the laissez-faire principles of the book are so important that the college mind should have acquaintance with these principles between beer blasts and panty raids (okay I made up the last part - that last part is all I remember of college-maybe things have changed).

        The Fountainhead of course has long been taught or recommended reading at most architectural schools and many English departments.

      While some faculty members have decried the notion that two million dollar grants to universities should not have strings attached as to how the money is to be used (yeah right, like I’m going to donate 2 million to a college and let them use the money to teach Second Amendment rights or drone warfare), I have not heard of any college turning down the grant on that ground, or on grounds that the book is not worthy as a literary or philosophical work.

       For those of you who have not actually read Atlas Shrugged but blindly insist that the works of Rand should be lumped with L Ron Hubbard and that both are “hackneyed literary crap, ” (we will not mention any names here to protect the guilty and those who are away at a buffet convention and can’t defend themselves), well, you have a chance to reevaluate your position.

      Now, other than the L Ron Hubbard “colleges” themselves (which are famous bc they prohibit buffets)  tell me- how many colleges can you name that teach L Ron Hubbard?

How about the new book by Joe Kernen, "Your Teacher Said What". Yes, that Joe of CNBC's morning show Squawk Box. I haven't read it yet, but no doubt it's about some of the bias that young students in middle schools and high schools have to deal with.

I can't tell you how many times my kids came home from school and told me what their teachers said, and my response (under my breath), was "that stupid son of bitch".

You wouldn't happen to have a list of the 60 universities, and if it's being taught at graduate or under graduate level? Obviously I can see it being part of an ethics class within Philosophy, Econ, or Business.

and I had to sit through an insufferable interview with this kid on CNBC last week while I was waiting for some analyst to explain to me why my Cisco stock was tanking.

        I have not seen a complete list of the Ayn Rand grants nor any for a grad school but:

     Florida State does use the grant to fund a course on ethics and economics in which Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is required reading.

     Presbyterian uses the funds to teach Capitalism- Foundations and Functions.

      “At West Virginia University, the College of Business and Economics used $1.75 million to establish a BB&T Chair in Free Market Thought. The school agreed to require Ayn Rand's work, but the professor "will have full latitude. He or she can decide how much or how little to use of 'Atlas Shrugged,"' said spokeswoman Amy Neil.

      Wheeling Jesuit University accepted $700,000 from BB&T to found its Institute for the Study of Capitalism and Morality in 2006. Spokeswoman Maureen Zambito said the book had long been used by the school's business department, and "it was decided to just present students with a package of books including Ayn Rand's book for a balanced presentation."

        Clemson University in South Carolina accepted a $1.4 million endowment two years ago to found its Institute for the Study of Capitalism. Brad Thompson, the institute's executive director, says the Rand text is used, and doing so is actually preserving academic freedom.”

       Marshall and Guilford have accepted the grant. Duke accepted a BB & T grant but without any strings attached.

     One correction – this article says Meredith College did reject the grant,

      But hey, didn't UCLA auction off a part of Pauley Pavillion to raise money? If they will sell that sacred ground where Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton once walked, do you think they will turn down an Ayn Rand grant?

because you lost $800 bucks in the blink of an eye. Or maybe it was because of your ACL problem, and your basketball days are over. Or maybe it was because you are still upset by the Duke "beat down" by Arizona in the sweet 16. I'm just drilling for the nerve. Did I hit it yet? (lol).

Haven't heard about any Ayn Rand grants at UCLA. I seriously doubt that will ever happen. Believe me, the West LA liberal elites will have a frigging riot. And no, haven't heard about UCLA selling Pauley Pavilion memorabilia. I wish they would so they would stop calling me for donations.

I don't follow or track donations or grants given to universities. On the surface, I don't have an issue with the donation from the former BB&T Chairman. Let's just say it helps level the playing field a bit. Hey, if a UCLA professor can declare a La Raza revolution on capitalism, then why not a polar opposite view. You have to be in SoCal to appreciate that kind of crap.

-- Modified on 5/15/2011 9:52:14 PM

sold for $325,000 at auction. Apparently some UCLA alum owned the jump circle, don;t ask me how, so it was this guy who auctioned it and not UCLA.

One I hold very dear is the first.

Atlas Shrugged is a fictional book written by Ayn Rand who held a pretty popular and controversial philosophy. It should be treated as such - a work of fiction. Students should be given the chance to read, examine and theorize their own ideas. It's that what university level training is about - creating thought and ideas which are new and diverse.

As far as a book of Philosophy or guideline to life - even the Bible is strictly taught that way, even at many religious universities. My theological studies taught me to look deeper than that text and to find ways to apply or not apply said principles to my life and the world around me. I do this with the Bible, Ramayana, Steinbeck, Conrad, Camus and Angelou.

Of course anyone should be able to read it.  In all the rabid debates about the book on this board, no one suggested otherwise.  The problem with it is not the book itself, but the people who take it as political philosophy and think it should be applied in the real world.

-- Modified on 5/16/2011 10:54:57 PM