Knowledge and Money: Research Universities and the Paradox of the Marketplace - Paperback

by Roger L. Geiger (Author)

Market forces have profoundly affected the contemporary research university's fundamental tasks of creating and disseminating knowledge. They arguably have provided American universities access to greater wealth, better students, and stronger links with the economy. Yet they also have exaggerated inequalities, diminished the university's control over its own activities, and weakened the university's mission of serving the public. Incorporating twenty years of research and new data covering 99 research universities, Knowledge and Money explains this paradox by assessing how market forces have affected universities in four key spheres of activity: finance, undergraduate education, primary research, and participation in regional and national economic development.

The book begins by chronicling how universities have enlarged revenues by optimizing tuitions, and how they have managed these funds. It reveals why competition for the best students through selective undergraduate admissions has led to increased student consumerism and weakened university control over learning. The book also explains why research has become an increasingly autonomous activity within the university, expanding faster than class instruction or faculty resources. Finally, it shows how the linkage of research to economic development has engendered closer ties with industry and encouraged the commercialization of knowledge.

Front Jacket

Market forces have profoundly affected the contemporary research university's fundamental tasks of creating and disseminating knowledge. They arguably have provided American universities access to greater wealth, better students, and stronger links with the economy. Yet they also have exaggerated inequalities, diminished the university's control over its own activities, and weakened the university's mission of serving the public. Incorporating twenty years of research and new data covering 99 research universities, Knowledge and Money explains this paradox by assessing how market forces have affected universities in four key spheres of activity: finance, undergraduate education, primary research, and participation in regional and national economic development.
The book begins by chronicling how universities have enlarged revenues by optimizing tuitions, and how they have managed these funds. It reveals why competition for the best students through selective undergraduate admissions has led to increased student consumerism and weakened university control over learning. The book also explains why research has become an increasingly autonomous activity within the university, expanding faster than class instruction or faculty resources. Finally, it shows how the linkage of research to economic development has engendered closer ties with industry and encouraged the commercialization of knowledge.

Back Jacket

I can think of no other scholar who could combine Geiger's mastery of the relevant research literature, his capacity to develop penetrating new analyses of national data, and his gift for creating vivid portraits of particular institutions at the forefront of change. The book is, in many ways, a tour de force. It will enhance Geiger's already impressive reputation. --Steven Brint, University of California, Riverside
"If someone were to ask me 'How do I learn about what happened to American universities in the past 30 years?' this would be the book to which I would send that person." --David W. Breneman, Dean, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia

Author Biography

Roger L. Geiger is Distinguished Professor of Higher Education at Penn State University. He has written extensively on research universities and the history of higher education.