Privatization and the Public Good
Public Universities in the Balance
Matthew T. Lambert, Foreword by Patrick M. Callan
paper, 344 Pages
Pub. Date: September 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1-61250-731-6
Price: $33.00
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“Public education is in crisis—and it has been for some time. The problem is, no one can agree on the problem, and when there is no agreement on the problem, developing solutions is nearly impossible.” Thus writes Matthew T. Lambert in this study of present-day public higher education, which is currently plagued by momentous challenges.
In Privatization and the Public Good, Lambert examines a range of developments related to the “privatization” of public higher education in the United States, including increasing “institutional autonomy, higher tuition, diminishing appropriations, alternative revenue sources such as philanthropy and new business ventures, and modified governance relationships.” These developments, in turn, have resulted in an uncertain future for public academic institutions across the country, posing unprecedented questions and challenges for them.
Through a wide-ranging analysis of the current situation and detailed case studies that focus on prominent public universities in Virginia, North Carolina, and California, Privatization and the Public Good provides a panoramic account of the challenges faced by public institutions. Insightful and essential, this book makes a crucial contribution to the current reassessment of higher education in the United States.
Praise
In a thoughtful and engaging style, Lambert’s redefined and enlarged understanding of the term “privatization” offers an intriguing prism through which to view the context of change in public universities and to engage in “spirited public dialogue” that examines the fundamental forces now pummeling our institutions of higher learning.
— Gerald L. Baliles, director and CEO, Miller Center, University of Virginia, and Governor of Virginia, 1986–1990
Lambert has provided a great service to leaders of public universities and elected officials by framing the debate about the future of public universities, even as state revenues remain unpredictable. He provides compelling evidence that public purposes need not be—and should not be—sacrificed at the altar of market forces. Lambert’s book is a must-read for all those who care about public higher education
— Joni Finney, director of the Institute for Research on Higher Education and professor of higher education, University of Pennsylvania
This book brings a new and unusually balanced perspective to the tensions now challenging public higher education in the United States. Lambert has provided an extremely insightful analysis of those tensions, and proposes important steps that could be taken to reduce them and restore public confidence in these institutions, which are so critical to the nation’s future.
— James J. Duderstadt, president emeritus, University of Michigan
Mathew Lambert’s Privatization and the Public Good proves that one can talk to a lot of politicians and not only survive, but come away with a truly nuanced understanding of how higher education policy is being made today: who talks, who listens, and who just plows ahead seemingly lost in the details of making policy for a complex set of market enterprises. Lambert’s book is a crucial contribution to our understanding of public universities in the United States today.
— Robert Zemsky, professor and chair, The Learning Alliance, University of Pennsylvania
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About the Author
Matthew T. Lambert is the Vice President for University Advancement at The College of William & Mary, where he also teaches undergraduate and graduate students in public policy and education. Prior to working at William & Mary, he managed multiple areas of university advancement at Georgetown University, where he also taught in the Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Dr. Lambert received his bachelor’s degree from William & Mary, his master’s degree from The Ohio State University, and his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests center on the changing landscape of American higher education, where new models of public and private support will shape educational institutions in the century ahead. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia, with his wife and two sons.