12 May The End of the Public University and the Beginning of the Next
Christopher Newfield (English, UCSB)
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 / 4:00 PM
McCune Conference Room, 6020 HSSB
History is replete with nations that declined because their leaders gradually undermined their own best institutions. The U.S. now appears to be doing this to its exemplary higher education system, with the University of California serving as Exhibit A. This lecture will look at the contradictions within the American funding model for higher education, and discuss three major symptoms: reduced affordability for students, the loss of US educational preeminence in 20 years, and underdeveloped social and cultural disciplines. It will also suggest two major steps through which the decline of public higher education could be reversed. Professor Newfield has offered an authoritative view of UC Budget issues and the funding shortfall crisis on his blog: http://utotherescue.blogspot.com
Sponsored by the Harry Girvetz Memorial Endowment and the IHC’s Future of the University Series.