So, back in 2022, I was still serving as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences when a Saudi student with ties to the royal family stopped by my office. He was studying to obtain a master’s degree in international relations, a program housed in my old department and one in which I had taught in until recently. He was in his second semester and had asked to stop by to meet me, and I was happy to do so.
As we were chatting, he noticed a bill on my desk for an automotive repair. Yes, I lamented, my car is getting old and it really needs to be replaced, but the supply chains were so disrupted after the pandemic that I have just been having a hard time getting what I want. I just feel stuck.
The student sat up and told me that he would love to be of service! His father had an extensive collection of automobiles! It made Jay Leno look like a Matchbox Car collector! He would be happy to donate a car to the College for my use, and it could be transferred to the Taylor Family Trust upon my retirement. In fact, he remembered a slightly used Rolls-Royce Phantom just gathering dust in the corner. It was probably only worth around $250,000!
Wow! That sounds great! I said. What kind of idiot would turn down a free car? Why, the great Sam Snead said to never turn down a gimmee putt!!
He politely nodded, knowing neither who Sam Snead was, nor what a gimmee putt might be.
So it was done. The university attorneys checked state law and found that, of course, Colleges could get free cars from students and that deans could then have them transferred to their trusts upon their retirement.
No one I knew thought there was anything odd about the gift. They just marveled at how cool it was.
That student never, ever was seen again in my office. He never asked for any favors! (*wink*). I certainly never felt any reason to show gratitude or lenience to him in any way.
That car sits in my garage even today. It sure is shiny!
Meanwhile, apropos of nothing, I recommend this from Ben Wittes: A Used Plane That Needs Work.
