Illusions of Excellence and the Selling of the University

KEYWORDS: COMMODIFICATION; COMMERCIALISATION; HIGHER EDUCATION; MARKET PENETRATION; NEOLIBERAL IDEOLOGIES; PUBLIC AWARENESS

The article describes a preliminary study of a western Canadian university’s “research awareness campaign” and links it to the parallel appointment of a new president with a strong “public affairs” focus. Both campaign and appointment are viewed as contributing to the commodification of knowledge. The rhetoric is seen as paradigmatic of the penetration of “market” discourse into the academy. The key problems seem to be (1) the administration’s uncritical and unreflective pursuit of the economic at the expense of the intellectual, (2) the professoriate’s passive acceptance of the new status quo, and (3) selective interpretation of market doctrines by university administrations in general, allowing them to attack the “front line” while preserving “management.” A larger study will pursue the issues raised.