Foundation in college admission scandal gave $100K to UM. School: There’s no link.
The same purported charity at the heart of the national college admissions scandal that led to indictments of celebrities and top executives donated $100,000 to the University of Miami.
The Key Worldwide Foundation, led by William Rick Singer, the alleged mastermind behind the scandal who pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and obstruction of justice, donated $40,000 to UM in 2015 and another $60,000 in 2016, according to nonprofit tax forms.
The Miami Herald first inquired about the donations March 13, the day after news about the scandal broke. The Herald asked what the funds were used for, if they went to any athletic programs, and if so, which, and if there were any internal investigations, personnel or otherwise, regarding the donations.
After multiple requests for updates, a spokeswoman from the university issued a statement Thursday to be attributed to the university itself. It said that after conducting an internal review of the information that “purportedly” links Singer and the Key Worldwide Foundation, “We have not found any link to Mr. Singer or his foundation.”
The Herald asked UM for clarification and a spokeswoman doubled-down on its statement that it found no link to Singer’s foundation.
The foundation’s donations to UM are listed on tax forms among tens of thousands of dollars in donations to New York University Athletics, University of Texas Athletics and University of Southern California’s soccer, volleyball and water polo programs.
Freshman congresswoman and former president of the University of Miami Donna Shalala issued a statement March 13 about the scandal in March and called for a hearing to examine “systemic flaws in admissions.” Shalala spent 14 years as UM’s president before stepping down in 2015.
“After more than 30 years as a university president or chancellor in three exceptional institutions, I know exactly how the leadership of the institutions affected feel this morning,” the statement read. “Over the years, I have had to deal with my share of scandals and have taken personal responsibility for the unacceptable behavior of my employees and the institutions I led.”
Shalala faced several scandals while at the helm of UM, most notably an athletics department scandal involving booster Nevin Shapiro and the university’s football team. UM lost nine scholarships and self-imposed bowl bans to lessen the NCAA’s penalties.
Singer also partnered with UM in 2000 to make the nation’s first online high school, the University of Miami Online High School. The school reportedly had a student population of over 18,000 students annually paying more than $15,000 per year tuition. The company was sold to Kaplan College Preparatory School.
UM did not respond to questions about Singer’s relationship to that program.
Miami Herald staff writer Michelle Kaufman contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 26, 2019 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Foundation in college admission scandal gave $100K to UM. School: There’s no link.."