Still more on the question of where the money is coming from--and what it is being used for, from Stanley Kurtz. Kurtz focuses on foreign gifts, and published a comprehensive list of who has given what to whom:

Through Freedom of Information Act requests and discussions with officials at the Department of Education, I have obtained a comprehensive list of gifts originating in foreign countries to American colleges and universities (as reported under Title 20, Section 1011f of the U.S. Code, "Disclosures of foreign gifts"). By law, all disclosure reports filed under Section 1011f are considered public records, and today, National Review Online is making them available to readers, here.

I post this material for two reasons. First, Congress will soon be facing an important decision regarding foreign-gift-disclosure requirements for American colleges and universities. Second, some recent large gifts to American schools originating in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have raised legitimate concerns about foreign influence on American higher education. Given the size of our higher-education system and the variety of potential questions raised by the records I am releasing today, the best way to uncover further problems is to make this material available to mainstream reporters, bloggers, student newspapers, alumni, and concerned citizens throughout the country.

[...]

How do we differentiate between questionable foreign influence and legitimate support for that which is best in American higher education? By itself, the information contained in federally mandated foreign-gift disclosures does not allow us to discern the difference. These reports can only raise questions for reporters, students, and other concerned individuals to pursue. To fairly judge individual gifts will require additional information about its stated purpose and how it is actually being used, and this can only be obtained through inquiries at the institutions in question. Personally, I begin with the assumption that most foreign gifts to U.S. universities are benignly intended and do substantial good. On the other hand, since some foreign gifts do indeed raise legitimate concerns, how do we begin to make sense of the records I’m posting today?

Kurtz also notes that bloggers, local media, students, and alumni are ideally positioned to help launch the massive volume of investigative work required right now to get the facts. If you've got an armchair detective in you (and who, in this era of 24-7 Law & Order reruns, does not?), then get to work. Be thorough, be smart, be precise, be fair, and have fun.

UPDATE: For still more on the politics and poetics of donations, see Donald Downs' recent Minding the Campus piece.