Major benefactor pulls $400,000 annual donation from ASU, cites ‘left-wing hostility and activism’

A major benefactor is pulling funding from Arizona State University amid the firing of an ASU staff member who hosted an event featuring conservatives Charlie Kirk and Dennis Prager.

Tom Lewis of the T.W. Lewis Foundation previously helped fund ASU’s T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development, which is housed in Barrett, The Honors College, at ASU.

Lewis withdrew his support for the center in recent weeks, citing the visceral reaction to the February event featuring Kirk, Prager and author Robert Kiyosaki.

“After seeing this level of left-wing hostility and activism, I no longer had any confidence in Barrett to adhere to the terms of our gift, and made the decision to terminate our agreement, effective June 30, 2023,” Lewis wrote in a news release.