Two visions of our University are in contention. Public money and resources are used to promote private interests and profits. That is, sadly, the ruling vision at present among industry, governments, and many university administrators. That our graduates are generally more successful in obtaining employment, and that some of our research produces commercializable goods for the marketplace, are serendipitous, not essential, outcomes. Perhaps the latter vision is no longer useful as a single-minded vision.
Universities now seem to be an uneasy mix of both visions.
For the real threat is that the marketplace vision will overrun and eliminate the traditional vision, either altogether or for the most part. The issue is the corporate take-over of our University. One sign of hope for the U of T rests in our new President, Robert Birgeneau, who has had much experience at M.I.T. in the area of research concentrations. In the U.S. the health care system is outrageous. At M.I.T., he said, there is a rather narrow range of salaries.