The College Fix

University provides two documents, no clarification regarding funding

State law prohibits taxpayer dollars from funding the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University – but whether the school is complying still remains unclear.

The College Fix recently obtained two documents in response to a public records request with Indiana University for “payments made to Indiana University from either the Kinsey Institute or the Indiana University Foundation on behalf of the Kinsey Institute between 8/1/2024 to 2/18/2025.”

A two-year state budget, passed in 2023, prohibited state dollars from going to the think tank at the Bloomington university.

The think tank is named for controversial sex researcher Alfred Kinsey. His sources include a known child rapist and others who claimed to have observed sexual behavior in children as young as infants, as previously reported by The Fix.

As is common for Fix requests to IU, the school provided the document and then ignored multiple requests for clarification and comment.

One document shows the Indiana University Foundation transferred $1,943,000 to the university on July 10, 2024. The explanation states “Indirects provided to Kinsey from IUF transferred to BL campus.” Another note at the bottom states this is for “F&A Expenses,” which presumably refers to facilities and administrative rate, essentially the rent Kinsey Institute pays the university. The center instructs supporters to donate to the foundation.

However, the foundation is hardly separate from the university. As the “mission and governance” page for IUF states, “Everything we do is in support of IU.”

“Ours is a simple goal: provide Indiana University with the financial support it needs to succeed,” the page states further.

Another page shows a Northern Trust Company statement, indicating the university received $2,361,049.43 in July 2024 from the IU Foundation.

The Indiana University Media Relations team did not respond to multiple requests for information about these funds and expenses via email and through voicemail. The Fix reached out to Mark Bode, Vic Ryckaert, Barbara Brosher, Marah Yankey, and Ryan Piurek in the past several weeks

In recent months, Bode, the system’s media director, and Ryckaert, the chief spokesman for the Bloomington campus, and the IU media team in general, have ignored or declined to answer phone calls, emails, and voicemail messages seeking comment on who will pay for pro-Palestinian damage on campus, hate crime hoaxes, potential civil rights violations, the school’s bias reporting system, and federal government funding for controversial Middle Eastern studies programs.

The Kinsey Institute itself referred The Fix to IU’s media relations team. regarding questions about how the Institute is ensuring compliance with the law and what funding sources it uses.

Attorney General Todd Rokita and Comptroller Elise Nieshalla wrote to the university in Oct. 2024, expressing concern with the university’s compliance with the law, as previously reported by The Fix.

Asked for an update, Rokita’s office deferred comment to Comptroller Nieshalla. Her office deferred to a prior statement from Jan. 10:

As State Comptroller, I am an avid defender and supporter of transparency, fiscal responsibility and rule of law. As the elected officeholder that distributes tax dollars to units of government, including universities, the law that prohibits state funding of the Kinsey Institute was brought to the attention of my office. I hope the responses from the University to my inquiries regarding compliance help in holding the University accountable. After looking further into the Kinsey Institute myself, I understand why the legislature passed, and the Governor signed, this bill into law.

The CEO of a government watchdog group criticized IU’s response to state law.

“Last time we checked, the Kinsey Institute was housed on campus and research was conducted by professors on public salaries,” Open the Books CEO John Hart told The Fix via a media statement. “Simply rerouting funds is a great example of doing the minimum amount to comply with the letter of law rather than align with the will of the people… [who] should be vigilant about institutions attempting to salvage the status quo.”

As for next steps, Teresa Manning from the National Association of Scholars says an investigation should be conducted into the workings of the Kinsey Institute.

“The Indiana Attorney General should investigate these claims and if this type of criminality continues in any form,” Manning told The Fix. “All the officials of the current Kinsey Institute should be questioned and all its documents reviewed, from its founding to the present.”

“Research Universities should be researching a cure for cancer, for autism, or for [Alzheimer’s] disease – not pursuing or tolerating pseudo research by entities such as the Kinsey Institute which promotes sexual hedonism and pretends this is somehow scientific. It’s not,” she said.

“[I]t should be removed from campus and not supported by any state or alumni foundation (the IU Foundation). Only that respects the spirit of the law and the wishes of the public.”

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INSIDE IMAGES CAPTION AND CREDIT: Public records from Indiana University; Indiana University

IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: A spokesman refuses to answer questions; Vchal/Shutterstock.com

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