The owners of Macalester take their rightful place by Michael S. McPherson The tradition of alumni support for their colleges is uniquely American. In most of the world, the finance of higher education is almost exclusively a governmental responsibility.
Citizens tend to view universities as a sort of public utility.
Such familiar American traditions as homecoming weekends, alumni reunions and Annual Fund drives are foreign to most nations. Historically, three factors stand out. First, in the U.S., education has never been defined as principally a responsibility of the federal government, so the scene has never been dominated by large national universities, as is true in many other places. Second, most U.S. colleges and universities have strong religious roots, which from early days have infused American campuses with distinctive, value-driven perspectives. And third, the American tradition of separation of church and state kept these religiously affiliated institutions free of government control as their tradition of independence developed.