Controversy Erupts Over a Big University Gift
April 3, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
The $200-million gift that New York University announced last week is prompting debate among archaeologists who say the university is tacitly approving the practice of looting antiquities by accepting the money, reports The New York Times.
One faculty member has resigned in protest, but New York University’s president said the donors of the $200-million, Shelby White and the foundation created by her late husband, Leon Levy, were dedicated collectors who would not be involved in looting.
Ms. White has said she is willing to talk to the Italian government about concerns it has about whether anything in her collection had been looted from archaeological sites.
