Hello Design Scholars...
The topic of why the university exists and who it is to serve in 2017 recently came up among some colleagues. In light of the rapid and radical changes in global higher education, I am wondering if this list has any views or opinions on the subject.
A brief perusal of wikipedia will tell us that the west has distinguished itself from the east in terms of academic freedom and the ability of the church to grant degrees and provide qualified government administrators to princely and/or otherwise royal families of Europe. Similarly, in the Islamic world that includes Asia and Africa, the university existed to train and qualify those who would serve the government.
With the university now in 2017 which is increasingly being converted into a profits generating corporation that monetizes the future of the workforce, and applies pressure to generate knowledge that can be economically weaponized Is the university now structured to deliver knowledge that can only serve investors and financial benefactors, or is there pockets of resistance out there that aim to develop the next generation into enlightened productive citizens apart from this new financial futures market aspect of 21st century higher education?
This is uniquely fitting for design education as I see more and more design educators reaching for the research PhD in order to sustain their career at the expense of a career designing or teaching the next generation in a focused and devoted manner. In the process there is growing revolt, as the divide between student and professor, and professor and administrator grows wider because there is no clear picture as to who the university is there to serve. Is it the wealth of administrators, careers of scholars, or indebted students who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of the 21st century university?
Stephen B Allard
Seoul, Korea
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