Inside Higher Ed: The Uncertain Future of Private Research Universities
Excerpt from Inside Higher Ed | By: Robert A. Brown | June 7, 2024
The United States has developed an extraordinary system of research universities. Of the more than 2,600 four-year colleges and universities, I am referring to those most research-intensive institutions, a subset of the Carnegie R1s, where research and scholarship led by faculty, in collaboration with doctoral students and post-doctoral associates, produce knowledge and inventions that advance society. Uniquely in America, our research universities are a mix of state-supported and private, not-for-profit institutions. My concern is whether the research emphasis of many private universities will be financially sustainable going forward.