HARTFORD, Conn. ― The University of Connecticut on Thursday defended its decision to have former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speak on campus in April for a fee of more than $250,000.
Her April 23 appearance was part of the school’s Edmund Fusco Contemporary Issues Forum and was paid for by the UConn Foundation from a donation made by the Fusco family of New Haven.
“No taxpayer or tuition money was involved at all,” said Stephanie Reitz, a school spokeswoman. “It’s unfortunate and unfair to link discussions about college affordability and tuition to the desire of a private donor to have money spent in a particular way.”
The school, which will have a 6.5 percent tuition hike this fall, was criticized on talk radio, in newspapers and on social media after the fee of $251,250 was reported Wednesday by The Washington Post.
Former state Rep. Jonathan Pelto, an independent candidate for governor and frequent critic of the school, said it is misleading to say no taxpayer money was involved, because UConn subsidizes the private foundation.
He said the speech came at a time when the state is cutting funding to the public school and tuition is rising past the point of affordability for many Connecticut families.
“It is truly outrageous that UConn and its foundation would then divert scarce resources away from instructional costs to pay $251,000 for a speaker,” Pelto said.
