Does the following excerpt from the description of Daniel S. Greenberg's book "Science for Sale: The Perils, Rewards, and Delusions of Campus Capitalism" seem all too familiar?

"In recent years the news media have been awash in stories about increasingly close ties between college campuses and multimillion-dollar corporations. Our nation’s universities, the story goes, reap enormous windfalls patenting products of scientific research that have been primarily funded by taxpayers. Meanwhile, hoping for new streams of revenue from their innovations, the same universities are allowing their research - and their very principles - to become compromised by quests for profit... "

With Mr. Greenberg's permission OurTrent is pleased to present a short parable by Mr. Greenberg that captures the essence of his argument published September 7th 2007 in the American Association for the Advancement of Science journal Science (Volume 317) in the Science and Society section.

Please click on "On The Road to Academic Greatness - A Parable", to access a PDF of the article.

Here's a brief excerpt from Mr. Greenberg's parable;

Meanwhile, U Av’s jilted trustees wondered: When all was going so well, why would their prize president jump ship? As a first step, they ordered an audit in expectation of finding a solid financial base that would help attract the next leader for the climb to national prominence. Alas, the auditors’ report was bleak: the $10 billion campaign had not yet covered its expenses; applications for admission had indeed risen, but in the absence of funds for financial aid, enrollments were down.

Other difficulties emerged. Carrying their allegations to Washington, the aggrieved graduate students and others received a warm reception on Capitol Hill, leading to an investigation of the Hugo First Institute. Pending the outcome, NIH prudently froze all grants at the institute. At the same time, the firm collaborating with the institute, fearing for its reputation in the drug marketplace, invoked its contractual right to withdraw from the relationship, taking with it all intellectual property and several items of costly scientific apparatus. The firm’s general counsel reminded his U Av counterpart that all dealings between the two organizations were protected by nondisclosure provisions.

Though busy at his new position, Swinger maintained a careful watch on events at U Av. Thus, he was not surprised by an urgent request to meet with the chairman of the commission’s board of trustees. The meeting was brief and ended with the understanding that Swinger would be able to review the press release announcing his resignation.

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to read the full text (2 page PDF) of
On The Road to Academic Greatness - A Parable