Michael Horn argues that elite universities face a choice: pursue globalization or keep federal funding. The Trump administration's attacks on Harvard expose a shift in American public opinion against globalization, threatening a decades-long deal where the government funded over a trillion dollars in university research in exchange for serving national interests.
So I have a new piece at the Boston Globe and op ed titled Can Elite Universities Remain Global? And it's about the Trump administration's attack on Harvard and others and the schools having been caught off guard because they've misread the nation around global efforts. And the basic argument is that, look, lots of America, they no longer believe that globalization is in the nation's interests. But many highly selective universities continue to strive to be more international. Now, look, for years, this embrace of international students, globalization, that was seen as being in accord with the national interest. Yeah, there were pockets of protests here and there, but on most college campuses, globalization, the idea of global citizenship, it was treated as inevitable and desirable. Now, the federal government, they pumped lots of money into these institutions, these universities, more than a trillion dollars of research since World War II. And they did it because it was seen as being in the interests of the country. But here's the thing. The assumptions driving the internationalization of America's universities, they have changed. And that's because many people in the country, they don't believe globalization is the good for America that they once did. So in my reading, if that's true, like it or don't, universities might be facing a decision. Do they want internationalization or do they want federal support? Because the compact between universities and the federal government, that's existed for many decades now, that can only continue if the work of the university is seen as being in lockstep with the national interest. Read more at the link below.
