A Theory on the Self-Supporting Academic Institution
mT HAT colleges and universities in the United States are financial risks is a truism scarcely any one will deny. Alumni, " friends of the college," foundations, and wealthy benefactors are well acquainted with the financial plight of our educational institutions. Even the ordinary layman is gradually becoming aware of the harassed condition of colleges and universities through exposure to numerous articles and appeals in newspapers, popular magazines, and television. That colleges and universities have tried numerous schemes to bolster their sagging economies is another truism that defies dispute. Alumni fund drives, long-range development programs, big-time athletics (with or without ties with chain stores, sponsors, or booster clubs), honorary degrees, plans and projects committees, and generous grants from foundations have not been able to produce the needed endowment. With all these strategies tried and found wanting, it behooves us to face the issue squarely and seek the basic cause of our financial insolvency. Seen in its right perspective, the solution not only becomes profitable for educational institutions but is also i io-per cent American. Simply stated, the theory calls for the abandonment of a medieval anachronism and the adoption of the practices and philosophy of contemporary American society. Universities and colleges are bankrupt, or nearly so, because they have been giving away their product! Ford does not give away its automobiles, nor does Westinghouse donate appliances to whoever requests them, not even if the customers send in two box tops from a I957 refrigerator. Economic institutions sell their products, often at fabulously high prices, or so it seems. But educational institutions take raw materials, expose them to thousands of dollars worth of equipment, millions of dollars of wisdom while charging below cost prices. Then, after four years of this high-priced production, academic institutions give away the finished product. It is small wonder that academic institutions and personnel are held in low esteem by other elements in our society. Any rational American will agree that this wasteful, neo-socialistic practice bodes ill for the future of our nation. The corrupting influence of such an alien philosophy not only undermines our free enterprise system but also places an unbearable financial