{"id":137558,"date":"2023-11-20T00:03:39","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T05:03:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=137558"},"modified":"2023-11-21T16:35:53","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T21:35:53","slug":"iu-considers-setting-up-new-entity-to-allow-it-to-host-kinsey-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/iu-considers-setting-up-new-entity-to-allow-it-to-host-kinsey-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana banned public funding of Kinsey Institute – IU considers a way around the ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

The university has ignored requests for comment on how the institute functions without taxpayer support<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Trustees for Indiana University recently voted to table discussion on creating a legal separation between itself and the Kinsey Institute sex research think tank.<\/p>\n

The Bloomington university\u2019s news team stated the proposal would \u201cpermit the university to set up a nonprofit entity to fund and operate a small portion of Kinsey Institute functions that have historically been supported through IU\u2019s general fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proposal follows a recently passed Indiana law that prohibits IU from using taxpayer dollars to support the Kinsey Institute,\u201d the news release stated<\/a>. The center is named for sex scholar Alfred Kinsey (pictured<\/em>).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tabled proposal would keep the Kinsey Institute at IU, including its name, faculty and collections,\u201d according to the news release. \u201cOnly a small portion of operational and administrative functions would be conducted through the proposed nonprofit entity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The institute\u2019s funding has remained in question after a state law went into effect on Aug. 1 which forbids the university from using taxpayer dollars to fund the center. Universities commonly use foundations to operate without being subject to public records requests.<\/p>\n

For example, Purdue University\u2019s foundation is ostensibly independent, but the chairman of its board is always the president of the Big Ten school, as previously reported<\/a> by The Fix<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The university has repeatedly ignored<\/a> questions from The Fix<\/em> in how the institute functions in light of the law.<\/p>\n

The Fix<\/em> filed a public records request for a copy of any contract between the Kinsey Institute and Indiana University that is in effect as of August 1, 2023 including any rent agreements between the school and the center.<\/p>\n

The university\u2019s general counsel office said no such record exists. The attorney\u2019s office and media relations has not responded to multiple requests for clarification in the past several weeks for information on if any rent is paid.<\/p>\n

The institute is currently housed at Lindley Hall, a university-owned building on campus.<\/p>\n

It has dozens of staffers who would presumably need office space to operate. For comparison, rent for a 12-person office in Bloomington would cost around $4,000 per month, using low-end estimates<\/a> on LoopNet\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

The Kinsey Institute\u2019s website is still maintained through the university and staffers still use IU email addresses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the Kinsey Institute does not receive direct appropriations, the new legislation requires that the university also ensure that no state funds are indirectly used to support the Kinsey Institute,\u201d a Q&A section states<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> ‘People with cervices’: IU med school doubles down on gender ideology<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cA limited number of the Institute\u2019s operational functions have historically been supported by the university\u2019s general fund, which may have indirectly included state dollars,\u201d the institute states.<\/p>\n

Kinsey Institute has repeatedly not responded to College Fix<\/em> questions about its operations. The center asks supporters to donate to a specific fund through Indiana University Foundation.<\/p>\n

The sex research think tank has come under criticism from Republican legislators and conservative activists who say Kinsey and his work represent \u201csexual perversion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Lorissa Sweet, who pushed for the funding prohibition, also criticized the Kinsey Institute for operating an app that has volunteers record their sexual activity.<\/p>\n

As part of his famous \u201cKinsey Reports,\u201d Kinsey used<\/a> the journal of a child rapist to study the rape of 196 kids. He referred to the rapes as \u201cpre-adolescent sex play.\u201d<\/p>\n

He claimed that the victims enjoyed the experience despite some giving \u201cviolent convulsions\u201d or \u201csobbing.\u201d He also described in detail how an infant supposedly achieves orgasm based on observations by \u201cother boys or older adults.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> University cannot hide from open records law by using foundation, judge rules<\/a><\/p>\n

IMAGE: Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n

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