ExxonMobil, one of four corporate sponsors, is giving $100 million to fund Stanford University’s Global Climate and Energy Project. The oil giant, which has regularly cast doubt on the damage caused by greenhouse gases, gets to burnish its public image by associating with a leading research university. ExxonMobil also gets royalty-free, exclusive rights with its three other sponsors for five years to any of the project’s discoveries. In fact Stanford has given up control of the project. The university’s representative on the project management committee doesn’t even get to vote. The sponors can decide the direction of the research. Here’s the agreement outlining Stanford’s deal with ExxonMobil, General Electric, Schlumberger Technology and Toyoto. It gives new meaning to "cooperation" between industry and academia. The San Jose Mercury News reports on why one big Stanford alumni and donor pulled his donation after watching ExxonMobil’s advertising campaign touting the partnership with the university.