University Trustee Ronald Perelman broke all records in April when he committed an unprecedented $20 million to the University for the construction of a student center that will bear his name. But he is not only the University's biggest supporter -- he is also Senator Bob Dole's. Perelman has been listed as the top contributor to Dole's Better America Foundation. Dole (R-Kan), who received $250,000 from the University alumnus, announced two weeks ago that he shut down the foundation at the end of the month. He had been accused of indirectly using the funds towards his presidential bid. The foundation was created in 1993 as a nonprofit organization that would serve as a think-tank for Republican causes. And last week, Dole was forced to released the names of the 131 donors who contributed approximately $4.9 million to the foundation. And Perelman tops the list with a $250,000 gift. The fact that Perelman, a longtime supporter of the University, has offered such a substantial contribution to a candidate whose proposed balanced budget contains such severe educational cuts, has puzzled some observers. Not only does Dole advocate drastically cutting the amount of government funding to education, but he also attacks both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. University officials have in the past decried the elimination of any of these programs. But Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman denied this week that Perelman's investment in Dole's foundation creates a conflict of interest to the University. And University President Judith Rodin declined comment on the issue. This is not the first time Perelman has substantially backed a political candidate, but most of his donations have been to the Democratic party. In 1988, he donated $100,000 to former New York Governor Mario Cuomo's gubernatorial race. However this gift violated the $25,000-a-year limit on political contributions, and Perelman was forced to agree to pay several thousand dollars in civil penalties five years later. Perelman repeated his support of Cuomo in the 1994 New York gubernatorial race, this time donating $91,000 -- the largest contribution of the campaign. This time the gift was legal because the money went towards a "soft money" account, so that the funds could be directed towards administrative expenses or passed along to state parties, but not used directly for the campaign. Perelman also was one of the top donators to President Bill Clinton's campaign in 1992, offering a substantial donation of $170,000. But in 1988, Perelman seemed to be slightly ambivalent as to which party to support in the election, because he gave donations of more than $100,000 to both Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis and former President George Bush.
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