The University of Michigan has no plans to return a $4 million donation from Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick in the wake of allegations that he hid reports of sexual misconduct and rape within his company from its board.
Kotick, who attended Michigan in the early 1980s before becoming one of the most powerful publishers in gaming, donated the money earlier this year to help the school jumpstart its esports curriculum.
University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said Thursday in an email that the school condemns all forms of sexual misconduct, and that while it is monitoring the allegations against Kotick, it has no plans to change its approach to the donation.
“Acceptance of gifts from any individual does not mean the university agrees with the individual’s opinions or actions,” Fitzgerald said. “The important work related to this donation continues.”
Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) has for months been dealing with multiple regulatory investigations into alleged sexual assaults and harassment of female employees. Kotick was more directly implicated earlier this week, when The Wall Street Journal reported that the CEO knew about some of the misconduct, including alleged rapes and settlements, for years and yet failed to inform the board. (The company told WSJ that Kotick wouldn’t have known about every report of misconduct.)
In the aftermath of that story, more than 100 current and former Activison Blizzard employees participated in a protest to demand Kotick’s resignation. A group of major shareholders also sent a three-page letter to the company’s board demanding the same, in addition to the replacement of some board members.
The board of directors later said in a statement that it was “confident” that Kotick appropriately addressed workplace issues brought to his attention.
“The goals we have set for ourselves are both critical and ambitious,” the board said. “The Board remains confident in Bobby Kotick’s leadership, commitment and ability to achieve these goals.”
A representative for Activision Blizzard didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment about the esports donation.
Kotick left Michigan in the 1980s with a nudge from Apple’s Steve Jobs, and in 1990 invested in a struggling video game company that he eventually grew into Activision Blizzard, the gaming behemoth behind such titles as Overwatch, Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. He is the longest-serving CEO of a public tech company.
Schools across the country are leaning more into esports as a curriculum and recruiting enhancement. Gamers tend to be well-off, diverse and interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), all demographic targets for nearly any university. Kotick said his gift was aimed at helping Michigan become a leader in developing talent for the growing industry.
The university said at the time that the $4 million gift would be used to help endow a professor position to lead the school’s new esports program, being built within Michigan’s School of Information. The school said it hoped to fill that position by the end of 2021-22, with plans to let students minor in esports by the 2022-23 school year.
