Steve Bing ‘87 has rescinded a planned $2.5 million gift to the University due to concerns surrounding the public advertisement of Stanford’s research partnership with ExxonMobil.

Bing — a Hollywood movie producer and son of prominent donors Helen and Peter Bing ‘55 — has also said that he will not make any future gifts to the University, The San Jose Mercury News reported Sunday. His previous donations to Stanford total $22.5 million.

Bing reportedly became concerned after seeing television and newspaper advertisements promoting the University’s 2002 research deal with ExxonMobil, the world’s largest private oil company.

“Exxon Mobil is trying to greenwash itself, and it’s using Stanford as its brush,” Yusef Robb, who has worked with Bing on climate issues, told The Mercury News. “We think that people who give to Stanford do so because they want to help the future leaders of this nation, not because they want to advance the agenda of ExxonMobil.”

Bing declined to make himself available for public comment on the matter and only made statements through Robb. Calls to Robb from The Daily were not returned.

While University officials would not comment on Bing’s decision, citing the confidentiality of private donations, they defended the partnership with ExxonMobil.

“[W]e can say that we are proud of our work on seeking solutions to serious energy and environmental problems and our collaborations in these areas with a variety of private and non-profit organizations,” said Elaine Ray, a university spokeswoman, in an email to The Daily.

Bing’s parents have their names attached to a number of the University’s buildings and programs — including the Bing Wing of Green Library, the Bing Overseas Studies Program and Bing Nursery School. Peter Bing has also been a chairman of Stanford’s Board of Trustees.

The partnership between the University and ExxonMobil is expected to net Stanford $100 million over 10 years to fund climate and energy research. The deal has been advertised in such high-profile places as the front page of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Many of the advertisements stressed the potential environmental and energy benefits of the research.

Bing’s decision has also had an effect beyond the Stanford campus. On Monday, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR), a California consumer watchdog group, called on UC-Berkeley to cancel a $500 million research deal that is in the works between the school and BP, a global energy giant.

“ExxonMobil wrapped itself in the mantle of one of California’s leading research institutions and is milking that image for all its worth,” said John Simpson, an FTCR consumer advocate, in a press release. “We cannot allow BP to do the same thing with California’s premier public university.”

Under Stanford’s partnership with ExxonMobil, the oil company reserves five-year, exclusive rights to any discoveries resulting from the research it funds. The money from the deal goes to the University’s Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP), which also boasts General Electric, Schlumberger and Toyota as corporate sponsors.