Temple had planned to name new buildings after donor Christopher M. Barnett, an alumnus now being investigated for financial crimes.
Photo illustration by Inside Higher Ed | Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Temple University will terminate a $55 million gift from Christopher M. Barnett, an alumnus who is being investigated for financial crimes. The donation, announced last year as the university’s largest-ever gift, was meant to fund the College of Public Health, a dean’s position and the new 26,000-square-foot student basic needs center.
Barnett graduated from Temple in 2010 and went on to found ABA Centers, which provide autism care, and ICBD Holdings, which oversees a variety of health-care companies. A probable cause affidavit unsealed late last week alleged that ABA Centers billed health-care benefit programs for medically unnecessary services, created fraudulent records to justify higher reimbursements and manipulated the health-care market by requiring employers to earn credentials with certain insurance programs so the company could bill services at higher rates. In the documents, officials alleged Barnett and another former executive used the money “to make extravagant purchases to support a lavish lifestyle, such as luxury automobiles and a private plane.”
