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 University, IncThe Corporate Corruption of Higher Educationby Jennifer Washburn Feb 15, 2005
DescriptionOur federal and state tax dollars are going to fund higher education. If corporations kick in a little more, should they be able to dictate the research or own the discoveries? During the past two decades, commercial forces have quietly transformed virtually every aspect of academic life. Corporate funding of universities is growing and the money comes with strings attached. In return for this funding, universities and professors are acting more and more like for-profit patent factories: university funds are shifting from the humanities and the less profitable science departments into research labs, and the skill of teaching is valued less and less. Slowly but surely, universities are abandoning their traditional role as disinterested sources of education, alternative perspectives, and wisdom. This growing influence of corporations over universities affects more than just today's college students (and their parents); it compromises the future of all those whose careers depend on a university education, and all those who will be employed, governed, or taught by the products of American universities. Reviews"With impressive detail and mountains of data, both anecdotal and systematic, Washburn traces the confluence of factors—legislative changes, cultural trends and shrinking public resources—that have produced universities increasingly funded by and acting like large corporations.” "A heartfelt, well-documented expose of a major rip-off that debases education in several important ways." "A painstakingly detailed chronicle of how the free market has penetrated the inner sanctum of higher learning." "Washburn has a muckraker's keen eye for scandals and cover-ups; her examples of academic research suppressed in the name of corporate profits will startle readers." "Reminiscent of Ida Tarbell and Ralph Nader, Washburn has produced an important exposé of, basically, the selling of the modern university. Hers is a hard-hitting book that should provoke controversy, upset rank-and-file citizens, ignite the concern of faculty and alumni, and lead to a scholarly outpouring of studies of the connections between the modern American university and business in recent decades. Her book raises fundamental questions: Who owns and controls university-produced knowledge? Who should own it, and benefit from it?" "Jennifer Washburn tells the fascinating story of how the lure of research profits has corrupted American universities. If you think higher education is about the free exchange of knowledge, this book will disabuse you of that quaint notion. Today, according to Washburn, it's about secrecy and patent monopolies and thickets of exclusive licenses, and we are all the worse for it. Washburn has done a splendid job of marshalling the evidence for this disturbing indictment." "Jennifer Washburn has written a provocative, timely, deeply researched book about the ongoing corporate take-over of the universities. For some time, many of us involved in education have had a sense that corporate money is doing too much to determine the direction of university research. But with Jennifer Washburn's impressively detailed account, we can now see exactly how this disturbing process has been unfolding. University, Inc. is a most important contribution to the debate on where education will go in the coming decades." Selling TerritoryWorld |
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