Higher Ed in a ‘State’ of Perfection?

by Kristin Nisbet Robby Stoave referred to the following quote from an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal by Columbia University President Lee Bollinger recently in a post on reason.com. There are examples of other institutions in the U.S. where state support does not translate into official control. The most compelling are our public universities and our...

by Kristin Nisbet

Robby Stoave referred to the following quote from an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal by Columbia University President Lee Bollinger recently in a post on reason.com.

There are examples of other institutions in the U.S. where state support does not translate into official control. The most compelling are our public universities and our federal programs for dispensing billions of dollars annually for research. Those of us in public and private research universities care every bit as much about academic freedom as journalists care about a free press.

Yet—through a carefully designed system with peer review of grant-making, a strong culture of independence, and the protections afforded by the First Amendment—there have been strikingly few instances of government abuse.

Successful partnerships regarding research may be one thing, but in other ways state support may have its pitfalls.  As Stoave points out, public university offenses–including two he cited involving our own University of Illinois with the recent firing of an adjunct instructor relating to his expression of his religious views, and unethical admission practices influenced by political connections–should not be overlooked.  The relationship between state funding and public universities is one that requires a high level of transparency. Check out some of the Institute’s work on this front.