Weekly Briefing: The growing corporatization of the American university

Almost nothing on U.S. campuses is off limits to private equity. ADVERTISEMENT [Weekly Briefing Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. Is your workplace growing more corporate? The corporatization of the American college is not new. Textbook prices are [up 1,000 percent]( since the 1970s, “campus credit cards” reflect a sneaky arrangement between the card companies and colleges that benefits both, and big companies like Sodexo and Aramark have long held the dining-hall market. None of these, James Rushing Daniel [argues in The Review]( benefit students in the long run. But while these developments are all part of enduring trends, a new phase of academic capitalism is dawning. Private-equity firms have found their way into new corners of the college market, Daniel says, often to the detriment of students and campus employees. Some of these affiliations may stem from times of state stinginess. Florida State University is exploring [options with JPMorgan]( to fund its athletics department through private equity. From College Park, Md., to Berkeley, Calif., housing companies owned by private-equity firms like Blackstone have built much more luxurious apartments for students than their parents could ever have imagined. Those same companies have reaped vast profits from soaring rents, however. Blackstone, Daniel reports, owns [American Campus Communities]( the largest player in the public-private housing mechanism long embraced by colleges unable to afford to build the upscale dwellings that attract students today. A classy apartment building in Austin, not far from the University of Texas, includes a coffee bar in the lobby, an infinity-edge pool, and a couple of saunas. Don’t forget the yoga studio. The cost? Just $1,824 per month, 46 percent more than it cost me in tuition for my first full semester of grad school 40 years ago (I went to an ag school, but still). Maybe those sweet suites have been good for UT, I don’t know. Daniel points to other, more insidious ways that businesses linked to private equity are squeezing money from college students and workers. Casinos with private-equity ties are finding their [way into college neighborhoods]( and some institutions’ pension plans are invested in private-equity companies. The University of California system’s, for example, is partly in Blackstone, what Daniel calls the “behemoth of the industry.” While such companies are ubiquitous players in the American college industry, Daniel found that not to be the case at the University of Southern Denmark, he writes, where 30,000 students from around the E.U. attend free. He just returned from a conference there, where he saw no fancy apartments, no restaurant chains, no dealings with private equity. Such a state model, some argue, could never work here. But, Daniel asks, why not? “The business model we have adopted for higher ed in America was not inevitable.” [Read more from James Rushing Daniel’s essay here](. ADVERTISEMENT NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. Lagniappe - Read. I’m reading [The Bridge of San Luis Rey]( Thornton Wilder’s novel that won the Pulitzer in 1928. An Inca rope bridge collapses at the dawn of the 18th century in Peru, and five people fall to their deaths. This is their story. - Listen. [This episode]( of the BBC Newshour includes an interview with a British Palestinian doctor working in Gaza’s largest hospital. It starts at 8:58 and grows unbearable at 10:26. - Read, don’t watch. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr’s 2014 [novel]( about the end of World War II, is exquisite. Its adaptation, via [Netflix]( is a pastiche. The Nazis are caricatures of the horrible, and Mark Ruffalo is more believable as a sperm donor in The Kids Are All Right than he is here as a French Papa. — Heidi (subbing for Fernanda, who is on vacation) SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. Chronicle Top Reads RESEARCH INTEGRITY [Scientists Are Scrutinizing Their Work With Francesca Gino. Here’s What They’ve Found So Far.]( By Stephanie M. Lee [STORY IMAGE]( One paper is reportedly being retracted as scholars evaluate more than 100 publications co-authored with the Harvard Business School professor accused of data fraud. SPONSOR CONTENT | Jobs for the Future [Jobs for the Future Wants the Future to Include All of Us]( The organization is seeking allies from academia and the workforce development field for its "North Star" goal: to help 75 million people facing systemic barriers to advancement find quality jobs. MONEY WOES [U. of Arizona Has a ‘Major Problem’ With Finances, Its President Says]( By Calli McMurray [STORY IMAGE]( The university says it has $240 million less in reserves than originally calculated. Financial aid will be scaled back, and the athletics department could face “draconian cuts.” CONFLICT AND CHAOS [The Israel-Hamas War Is Escalating. Colleges Are Caught in the Middle.]( By Maggie Hicks [STORY IMAGE]( They’re being told by advocates, alumni, donors, faculty, and students to denounce, support, and shut up about the roiling protests over the conflict. ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [College as a Public Good - The Chronicle Store]( [College as a Public Good]( Public confidence in higher education has fallen in recent years, with barely half of Americans seeing it in a positive light. [Order this report today]( to examine the many roles colleges play in their local communities and how institutions are reimagining their outreach to rebuild public trust. NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2023 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037