What you need to know about the U of T Law Amazon donation controversy
In August 2023, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law publicly addressed the controversial USD$450,000 (about CAD$600,000) Amazon donation received by the Faculty in December 2021. While the initial statement from the Faculty appeared to stand behind the decision to retain the gift, the Faculty swiftly adjusted its position in a second statement released less than two weeks later. In this second statement, the Faculty stated it had decided to return the gift to Amazon and amended its policies concerning corporate gifts.
The Logic Coverage
The undisclosed Amazon donation was first reported in an article from The Logic by Martin Patriquin on August 15, 2023.
According to Patriquin, The Logic obtained several documents through an access-to-information request that revealed events and details concerning Amazon’s gift to the Faculty. The documents revealed that a few days after a speech by the Commissioner of the Canadian Competition Bureau in October 2021, Faculty members exchanged emails with an Amazon employee. These emails detailed Amazon’s interest in being “more proactive on thought-leadership, including supporting research on emerging [sic] issues in competition/antitrust.” In addition, Amazon confirmed their comfort in providing “annual support in the mid-6 figures with room to expand moving forward” in the hopes of developing a “long-term relationship” with the Faculty. The Faculty received Amazon’s donation in December 2021.
The donation has allegedly been used to help fund several items, with the most controversial being a Future of Law Lab webinar speaker series. The documents contained an exchange in which a Lab member referred to selecting webinar guests from academics on “Amazon’s list.” Notably, the webinar speaker series has since included speakers critical of expanding competition legislation, and according to The Logic, two of the thirteen speakers in the webinars were present on “Amazon’s list.” The Faculty did not disclose the origin of the program’s funding to the webinar participants. The Logic also alleged that the University planned to fund a portion of the Future of Law Lab’s budget from the donation.
Following publication of the article in The Logic, organizations such as the University of Toronto Faculty Association and the Canadian Association of University Teachers spoke out against the University for its lack of transparency and alleged violations of academic freedom.
The Faculty’s initial statement after The Logic coverage
On August 18, 2023, U of T Faculty of Law Dean Jutta Brunnée posted an initial statement titled “Statement from Faculty of Law Dean Jutta Brunnée regarding a corporate gift.” In this statement, Dean Brunnée asserted that the gift from Amazon was to be spent at the Faculty’s discretion, without restriction. However, Dean Brunée later clarified to The Varsity, U of T’s student newspaper, that Faculty staff had spoken with Amazon about ways the Faculty might use the donation.
Dean Brunnée’s initial statement went on to specify that the gift had been spent on “stipends for six student research assistants; venue, travel-related and hospitality expenses for events; and communications costs” as well as a staff position to “coordinate, among other things, an online speaker series.” According to The Logic, USD$250,000 was used for a visiting scholars program, USD$50,000 was used to hire five research assistants, and USD$150,000 was used for the speaker series.
Dean Brunnée’s statement affirmed that the donation was properly reported under University policy. The Logic received confirmation from a university spokesperson that Amazon’s gift was in fact included in reports received by the relevant boards in March 2022. However, board reports are not generally accessible to the public.
Dean Brunnée addressed why this source of financial support was not shared publicly:
I decided not to share the source of financial support because fostering open discussion and debate that reflects the full range of perspectives in the field was my top priority. All viewpoints were welcome, and communicating the source of the funding could have created a misperception that some perspectives would be prioritized over others. I recognize now that more information may have been preferred to enable some of our participants and invited speakers to fully evaluate their engagement in these activities.
However, The Logic reported that Amazon had discouraged the University from generating publicity surrounding the donation and advised against any press releases.
Dean Brunnée finished the statement by confirming half the gift remained and would be used to support internships, non-curricular activities, and financial aid for students with demonstrated interests in competition law, innovation law, and law and technology.
The Faculty’s second statement
The Faculty’s initial stance on utilizing the Amazon donation would prove to be short-lived. Less than two weeks later, on August 29, 2023, Dean Brunnée posted a second statement regarding the Amazon donation titled “Statement regarding a corporate donation to the Faculty of Law.” Dean Brunnée announced that she, in conjunction with the President of U of T Meric Gertler, had decided to return the donation. Dean Brunnée went on to state that the University would immediately introduce a new guideline to ensure that going forward, “all philanthropic donations from corporations will be publicly disclosed.” Finally, Dean Brunnée shared that the University will be commissioning an independent survey of best practices among post-secondary institutions regarding recognition and disclosure of corporate giving to inform future decision-making and policy decisions.
Want to know more?This story was covered extensively by The Varsity in its article “U of T Faculty of Law returns undisclosed donation from Amazon following backlash” by Jessie Schwalb.
