These occurrences, combined with the academic concerns, have led some schools to think twice before expanding to the Gulf. The University of Nevada at Las Vegas — yes, the city of sin! — turned down an offer by the government of Dubai, reportedly “because of concerns about human rights,” according to the CHE. UNLV represents an important, even if surprising, objector to this money-trumps-all mentality, for at least one American institution of higher learning has realized that academic and political freedom might be a pre-requisite for serious Western-style scholarship and teaching — regardless of whether the host country’s check is sure to clear. It has realized that the corporate pursuit of profit and academic culture may not be the best mix. But we’ll have to wait to see how well ivy grows in the oil-soaked soil of the Persian Gulf.
Harvey Silverglate, a Cambridge-based lawyer and writer, is the co-author, most recently, of The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America’s Campuses (HarperPerennial). His next book, Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent, is forthcoming next year from Encounter Books. Kyle Smeallie assisted in the preparation of this piece. Read Harvey Silverglate's blog, The Free-For-All,at ThePhoenix.com/Blogs/FreeForAll.
Related:
Alumnus interruptus, Come out, come out, wherever you are, Crimson tied, More 
- Alumnus interruptus
Rather than take pride in the bi-monthly’s stellar 108-year-old reputation, university administrators effectively declared war on Harvard magazine earlier this year when they brought out an in-house competitor.
- Come out, come out, wherever you are
What if I’d been a guy in a Ren Faire dress?
- Crimson tied
Barack Obama's presidential campaign was successful in part because he was able to cleverly negotiate and navigate the battles that have plagued the United States the last few years.
- Books tour
While most area colleges continue to offer predictably boring campus tours that amount to wandering through academic ghost towns imagining departed crowds, there are also some alternatives to the standard walk-and-talk routine.
- Learning not to kill
This article originally appeared in the February 27, 1998 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
- Endangered tongues
You may have read: the world is getting smaller.
- The kids in the hall
Someone is going to get pregnant.
- Bytes of knowledge
Once upon a time, we thought it was novel to be able to buy books in our bathrobes.
- School for scandal
Lending institutions have been buying the favor of sticky-fingered college administrators for some time now.
- Facing off over Facebook
Students, be warned: the college of your choice may be watching you. Post at your own peril: The risks of sticking it to the man on Facebook. By Adam Reilly
- Parody flunks out
Artist Barry Blitt’s brilliant illustration — which sought to satirize the naysayers who portray Obama as a flag-burning, unpatriotic Muslim and his wife as a black-power radical — cut to the core of today’s political paradox.
- Less
Topics:
News Features
, Science and Technology, Education, Carnegie Mellon University, More
, Science and Technology, Education, Carnegie Mellon University, Matt Viser, Steven Pinker, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Harvard Medical School, Higher Education, Less
