Records show that the University of Tennessee has pumped millions from its endowment into private investment funds, including many in the Cayman Islands.
The USA Today Tennessee Network reports that the school successfully lobbied state lawmakers to pass a law to make details about these types of investments secret from the public.
The new law says UT still had to disclose some basic information, but the school doesn't have to reveal how much money it is paying in fund management fees or disclose the names of the companies where the funds are invested.
One academic who studies endowments called it unacceptable, considering that taxpayer funds and donor money is paying fees of fund managers.
University officials argued that fund managers won't work with institutions if the information is public.
