Have We Lost the 'Public' in Higher Education?

The author states that the turn toward research universities after World War II as the sites for the nation's scientific research (and thus its lucrative government funding) rather than the industrial lab and today's sluggish economy has led colleges and universities to understand that survival depends on being more responsive to market forces. In their pursuit of market advantage, colleges have become dispensers of degrees rather that vibrant communities of educators who originate and debate important ideas. The future holds more privatization of public institutions, more emphasis on higher education as a private good, and less movement toward colleges as places of public discourse.