The modern university does many things. Most visibly, it provides a formal structure (lectures, seminars, readings, etc.) by which students acquire knowledge and, more importantly, learn how to acquire knowledge. Less visible, however, are those characteristics which most distinguish the university from all other organizations in society. It is a community of free and independent scholars. These scholars teach and conduct research—research of their own choosing. Credible universities have a range of disciplines and a faculty with a range of perspectives. At its core, the university is an open forum of ideas. The unwritten rule is that no concept or viewpoint is sacred. No idea is exempt from critical (and often brutal) examination.

This essential character of the university puts it in the best position to defend fundamental human rights and freedoms. Ideally, the university is a bulwark against fanaticism, intolerance, and authoritarianism. I say ideally because the university has not always been exemplary in this role. It need not incorporate this into its mission statement. It serves this function naturally. In this sense, the university is our most important institution—more important than the state. Functioning well, it holds everything up to scrutiny, including itself. It asks the embarrassing questions. More than anyone else, the university professor has both the expertise and the independence to present credible assessments. Her only worry need be the critical review of her peers.

But here lies the dilemma. The university needs money to operate. Whether it receives money from students, governments, corporations, or large endowments, there is always a concern about compromising independence. This issue has come to the fore recently as Canadian universities increasingly look to corporations and to large benefactors for funding.

Over the past 50 years at least, universities have received the majority of their operating and capital funding from the state. The state, in turn, has generally respected the university's autonomy and independence. While economists pointed out that the way universities were funded involved a "regressive" redistribution of income, supporters of the status quo have argued that open access to all (the so-called democratization of universities) and the purported beneficial externalities trumped redistributive considerations. University administrations, it is fair to say, were happy with the idea of receiving roughly three-quarters of their budget from taxpayers. They are not happy now.

Recent cuts in government grants and corresponding increases in tuition fees have fundamentally changed the revenue profile of universities. Moreover, the net effect of these changes has left many universities with less income than before, necessitating a search for new sources of revenue. Private, for-profit corporations are, potentially, one source of funds. The actual privatization of parts or even all of the university is also an idea that has some currency. Are these developments desirable? Are they feasible?

These issues, falling under the new buzz phrase "the corporat-ization of universities," are worthy of examination. The way universities operate and are funded could have a direct impact on how professors do their jobs and could effect those "essential characteristics" of universities referred to earlier.

Let us consider, for example, the issue of privatization. Strictly speaking, privatization means that an institution receives little or no government funding. My own university now receives more than 50 percent of its revenue directly from its clients, the students, and less than 50 percent from the state. In a sense, it is on its way to being a private university. Most Ontario universities are moving in this direction. The main concerns have to do with the impact of rising tuition fees on access for low-income students and on student debt loads. However, having students pay a larger share of the cost of their own education does not change the essential nature of the university. After all, we have many examples of private universities in America and elsewhere.

What about the possibility of private, for-profit universities? My own view is that universities are likely to stay in the not-for-profit realm. Professional training could be operated for profit, but most of what goes on in a university will not be attractive to profit seekers. Pure research, especially that which involves the consideration of interesting but wholly non-commercial ideas, is incompatible with a profitable enterprise. The idea of collegiality is not consistent with most business operations, which tend to have a clear hierarchical structure. More to the point, for-profit enterprises will engage in directed research and the acquisition of specific knowledge by employees. They will have no interest in the free and independent academic. Nor will they have an interest in disciplines and programs that do not make a profit even though, in a traditional university setting, these disciplines and programs are indispensable parts of the whole. As long as society puts a high value on the essential characteristics of the university, that is to say, freedom, diversity, and independence, universities are likely to remain non-profit institutions.

There remains the question of closer links between the university and the corporation. Is this desirable? Can the university possibly benefit from a cosier relationship with for-profit corporations? Unlike some of my colleagues, I do not immediately view such arrangements with suspicion. Indeed, I think that many otherwise thoughtful university professors spend far too much time fretting about "corporate agendas" and "market hegemony." At the same time, we need to approach university-corporate relationships with care and due caution. We should be under no illusions. Corporations exist to make profits. Period. We need to be clear that the corporation will be looking for a deal, which directly improves the bottom line or does so indirectly by, for example, enhancing the public image of the company. For its part, the university will be successful if it obtains a new revenue source without any compromise of its essential character.

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Last Modified: Wednesday, October 20, 1999.