The autonomy of professors is held hostage through reliance on 'special' donor agreements, and a pressure to secure private funding. Fundraising has become the first priority of the university, leading to the allocation of much-needed resources into project which make the campus attractive to private donors Donations and funding for research are directed overwhelmingly to areas which directly benefit the business community. I.e. Faculties of Medicine, Engineering, Pharmacy, and Management. Graduate students become cheap labour for big business, and public facilities are used for private gain. Public Good A simple fact has been forgotten.
Universities are public institutions.
This means they are funded by all of us, and therefore, should be open to all of us, and should serve to benefit all of us. What is good for the corporations is not good for all of us, despite what their paid economist researchers claim. The corporate elite who make decisions at our university stand to profit personally from the effects. The Bank of Montreal is a major provider of student loans. When tuition goes up, they profit.