The University spent $15,000 to register Vice President for International Affairs David Kennedy '76 for the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting last September, according to a list released by the Clinton Foundation in mid-December.
Questions were raised over the circumstances and purpose of the contribution - which appeared as a donation on the Foundation's Web site - when the information was released.
Despite the then-declining economic conditions, Kennedy's registration fee was covered by the President's office, said Marisa Quinn, vice president of public affairs and university relations.
"Fifteen thousand dollars is a fair amount of money," Quinn said, adding that it allowed "for this tremendous opportunity to meet with people from around the world and engage in thoughtful dialogue on issues of interest to higher education and the broader society."
President Ruth Simmons also attended the annual meeting, but did not have to pay the registration fee as she was an "invited guest," Quinn said.
The University chose to send Kennedy to the meeting to "enhance Brown's profile in the international community, and to make valuable connections with world leaders," Quinn wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
Kennedy said the meeting provides "a terrific opportunity to meet a wide range of people who could be helpful to the University in one fell swoop."
"There's no conference like CGI," he added.
But the $15,000 registration fee, or so-called donation, has sparked some controversy, highlighted by a Dec. 23 Wall Street Journal column that raised questions about nonprofits making charitable donations to the Foundation, and mentioned Brown by name. The Herald had reported two months earlier that the University received $205,000 in grant money from the Foundation in September, through the Clinton Global Initiative University, a program started by the Foundation to promote leadership on college campuses, and the Wal-Mart Foundation. The grant was meant to expand a partnership between Brown and Dillard University in New Orleans. The initiative also granted $2,000 each to four Brown students - more than any other university received.
Apart from Brown, universities such as Columbia, Tufts University and the University of California at Los Angeles gave money to the Foundation, according to the Foundation's donor list.
The column also raised questions regarding the transparency of the Clinton Foundation, noting that the organization did not have to release its donor list prior to this year and still does not specify the intended purpose for the money. The donor list was released as part of President Barack Obama's vetting of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was then being considered for her current cabinet position.
But there is no law barring universities from donating money to a foundation, said David Brennen, professor of law at the University of Georgia School of Law.
"I am not aware of any prohibition on a university donating money to a foundation and the foundation in turn providing a grant back to the same university," he said.
The Clinton Foundation could not be reached for comment.
In addition to the registration fee, conference attendees are expected to donate more money, FoxNews.com reported in September 2007.
"Those who attend pay a $15,000 registration fee and are also expected to commit time or money to the conference's big issues. Those who do not fulfill their pledges are not invited back," according to FoxNews.com.
Still, the University only gave the Foundation the money needed to cover the registration fee, Quinn said, adding that she is "not aware" of plans to donate further funds.
Kennedy said he does not plan to attend the conference again.
