Florida has been quietly bankrolling a little-known center at Florida International University that has turned into a regional magnet for conservative politicians and policy influencers from across Latin America. Since 2020, the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom has landed roughly $39 million in state appropriations, even though internal budget records show it has spent only a slice of that cash and rolled a multimillion-dollar surplus into fiscal 2025. The center now runs fellowship programs, a podcast and new degree tracks, leaning heavily on visiting scholars and donor-heavy events to build its brand.
Where the money went and where it didn't
Budget documents reviewed by WLRN show state lawmakers have allocated about $39 million to the Adam Smith Center since 2020, while the center spent roughly $13.4 million of that total through 2025. In fiscal 2025, the center reportedly left approximately $10.9 million unspent, after spending only $1.3 million of a $5 million appropriation in 2023 and $2.3 million of $16 million in 2024. The same records show administrative salaries and travel costs on the rise, with administrative pay reported near $720,000 and travel expenses topping $200,000.
How the state wrote the checks
The Legislature launched the center with a $1 million seed in 2020, then added $5 million in 2023 before locking in a $15 million recurring line in the 2024 appropriations bill. That recurring allocation is spelled out in the enacted General Appropriations Act and folds the center into the State University System’s program priorities. The bill text with the appropriation language is available in the legislative record, and the 2024 funding details are laid out on LegiScan.
Inside the center's roster
FIU and the center describe the Adam Smith Center as a leadership and policy institute that brings international officials to campus, and university documents note the recent launch of bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business and government leadership. The center’s public program pages highlight a steady stream of fellows and guest lecturers from across the hemisphere, including former presidents and senior ministers. FIU’s Adam Smith Center and the university’s board materials outline the fellowship offerings and the new degree proposals.
High-dollar dinners at Doral
The center has staged splashy fundraisers, including dinners at Trump National Doral, that FIU says have pulled in six-figure hauls. FIU figures cited in reporting show the Adam Smith Center’s 2024 fundraiser brought in about $126,101.97 and the 2025 event roughly $592,943.51, while a May 16, 2026 dinner at Doral had been held but not yet tallied at the time of reporting. FIU says all proceeds flow to the university’s tax-exempt foundation, and Miami Herald coverage detailed the totals and the venue.
Grants, pay and programming
On top of state dollars, the center has attracted private money through grants and contracts. The Templeton World Charity database lists a $240,900 grant for an FIU project that began in May 2025, and the university told reporters it expected a similar Templeton award in 2026. Public documents and local reporting also describe a roughly $80,000 National Endowment for Democracy grant in 2024 that, according to records, helped pay a $40,000 annual stipend to Juan Guaidó, along with contract payments tied to the center’s podcast production. The grant and contract details are laid out by the Templeton World Charity Foundation.
Faculty questions and transparency
Some faculty and visiting scholars say the center’s inner workings and spending patterns are hard to see, and faculty committees trying to obtain budget records ran into access fees and redactions. “We’re not partisan in what we do. Now, we are ideological in the sense that we’re pro-free markets,” center director Carlos Díaz-Rosillo told reporters, a line critics argue underscores the center’s political orientation. Reporting shows the university charged requesters more than $2,000 to produce certain records, and those disclosure fights have fueled calls on campus for clearer oversight. Miami Herald coverage described the records requests and the reaction.
With degree programs rolling out and fundraisers still on the calendar, the Adam Smith Center now sits at the crossroads of public money, private grants and partisan networks, a mix that has already drawn scrutiny from faculty and watchdogs. Lawmakers and university leaders are likely to face growing pressure to explain how the center’s spending serves FIU’s academic mission and to make its budget documents easier for the public to see.
