The awesome frontiers opened up by genomic research, of course, raise even larger questions about the relationship of the public and the private spheres. But since universities are at the center of the quest, we are also at the center of the question. And boundaries between public and private interests become ever more fuzzy. I have no doubt that universities, public and private, will, in the course of the 21st century, be increasingly hybrids involved in both the public and private realms. But for public universities, the sorting out of the relationship between the two realms is vital.
Public universities educate over three-fourths of American students.
Public universities have always played, and will continue to play, a central role in educating citizens for responsibility in a democratic society, for participation in the public realm. Commitment to the public good, which must be the bedrock commitment of public universities, cannot be separated from investment in the public good. We cannot be institutions committed to serving the greatest good for the greatest number if we are serving the private interests of the privileged few. In the 19th century, Great Britain had the most advanced technology in the world. But it grew complacent, certain that its standard of living, its leadership would prevail.