Locatelli keeps Lockheed grant

By Nate Swinton

University President Paul Locatelli, S.J. announced his intention Thursday to keep a $50,000 donation from the Lockheed Martin Company to the school's engineering department, despite student protests.

"I am not persuaded that the common good is served by returning this gift," Locatelli said in a campus-wide e-mail.

Locatelli said that students can choose to reject scholarship money from the Lockheed Grant and the school will find other means of providing them with their entitled financial assistance.

Several members of the University community questioned whether accepting the gift from Lockheed, one of the nation's largest defense contractors, contradicted the school's commitment to social justice and Jesuit ideals.

In the e-mail, Locatelli also outlined a procedure for developing a school-wide policy on accepting gifts in the future that includes researching other Jesuit universities' donation acceptance policies and consultation with experts in the business ethics field.

Since it needs to be approved by the Board of Trustees, such a policy would go into effect at the earliest after the board's next meeting in October.

Locatelli was out of town and could not be reached for further comment.

Many students disagreed with Locatelli's decision.

Junior Evan Hughes, a central opponent of the Lockheed donation, said there is a "large group of students disappointed" by the e-mail.

Hughes, who along with several other students voiced his objections at an open forum held last week, said Locatelli "makes this decision that seems to disregard the points made" by student protestors.

Senior Patty Adams, a student commentator and organizer of the forum, was equally disappointed.

"I think he's doing a disservice to the Jesuit community," she said. "His decision clearly shows he values some things over others. Most noteably he values high-profile relationships."

Both Hughes and Adams doubt Locatelli took last week's forum into serious consideration when making his decision.

"I'm not convinced that the forum had any effect on his decision," said Adams. "He's obliged to pay lip-service to the University."

Neither student appears ready to let the issue die. Hughes said he is organizing rallies to take place in the upcoming weeks and hopes to see a significant student turnout.

"The issue's really not over," he said. "Plans aren't solid by any means."

For Vice President of University Relations Jim Purcell, and much of the school's administrative staff, the only question left is what shape the school 's gift-acceptance policy will take.

"Father Locatelli was pretty clear in his e-mail that we're going to accept the Lockheed gift," he said. "But what's not clear is what the policy is going to be."