Challenging the Privatised University (Advocate 23 03)

By Ian Dobson. Today’s universities are defined by their commitment to neoliberal logics (an oxymoron, I know), with CEOs at the helm on salaries of $1 million or more, and military, pharmaceutical, biotech and fossil fuel industries driving commercial research agendas. At the privatised university – or ‘edu-factory’, as I sometimes think of it – degrees and research are products for sale; students are consumers, and academics are entrepreneurs and service providers. More...