Abstract
Clear communication regarding value and cost in higher education is more important than ever. College presidents and financial analysts agree — mission focus is essential.
“In general, higher education does not know how to speak for its interests. It offers a stance that is defensive, cowardly and likely to be ineffective.”
Stanley Fish
Nobody ever suggested that money is inconsequential in higher education. Derek Bok, twice former president of Harvard University has a book scheduled for release soon entitled Higher Education in America. A recent essay from that book in the Chronicle of Higher Education, “The Ambiguous Role of Money in Higher Education,” presents a case for university leaders to understand the flow of money in universities. Bok’s caution: Donors, private research funding, and statehouse favors can all be poor investments when misguided by short-term myopia.