Several ISU alumni and donors have threatened to cut their financial support to the university because of filmmaker Michael Moore’s upcoming campus appearance, ISU President Gregory Geoffroy said.

The controversial Academy Award-winning director, whose film credits include “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Bowling for Columbine,” is scheduled to speak at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday. He is well-known for speaking out against President Bush and his administration.

“I have heard from a few donors who are not happy that Mr. Moore is coming,” Geoffroy said. “And as part of their unhappiness, they have expressed their unwillingness to continue their support of the university.”

Geoffroy stressed that the number of these complaints was small. He said that he had answered each complaint, explaining the facts of Moore’s invitation and the importance of controversial viewpoints to the university’s educational mission.

Since Moore had been invited by student committees, Geoffroy said he has no plans to cancel the event.

This negative reaction is not new to Moore’s nationwide, 60-city “Slacker Uprising Tour,” which is targeted at student voters.

At the University of Nevada, 15 donors and alumni, including $1 million donor Rick Reviglio, asked the student government to cancel Moore’s Oct. 13 appearance and then offered $100,000 for the school to bring in a conservative speaker to debate Moore. The student government rejected the offer.

At George Mason University, the school officials canceled Moore’s Oct. 28 appearance after two Republican state legislators complained about tax money being used to pay the $35,000 speaking fee of a partisan speaker. Moore plans to visit the campus anyway, for free.

At Iowa State, Moore waived his normal speaking fee and will be paid $4,000, which will be covered by student fees.

This will be his fourth visit to Iowa State.

Moore was invited last year as part of the Bill of Rights speaker series but had to cancel. In mid-September he offered to make a stop on his tour two weeks before the election. The student-run Committee on Lectures and the Institute on National Affairs accepted the offer.

“Both committees agreed that while the timing was not ideal, the opportunity was too great to miss,” said Pat Miller, program manager of the Lectures Program.

She said that the response she has heard about Moore’s upcoming visit has been “generally positive.” There have been requests for high-profile conservative speakers, such as Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity or former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, but their speaking fees — $100,000 plus expenses — were too high to consider, Miller said.

The committee is looking for other ways to bring in conservative viewpoints, Miller said. The ISU College Republicans will have a debate with the ISU Democrats on Oct. 18. The film “Celsius 41.11,” a response to Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” will be shown Oct. 19. The committee is also working on bringing in best-selling author Ann Coulter as part of her national book tour on Oct. 29.

Louis Kishkunas, president of the ISU College Republicans, said although he strongly disagrees with Moore’s viewpoints, he is not opposed to Moore being invited to speak. The ISU College Republicans plan to set up a table to hand out information before he speaks.

“What these alumni are doing, that’s fine; their money is their business,” Kishkunas said. “I don’t think we have to drive out Michael Moore before he comes — I think we can win on the basis of our arguments.”