Description: Countering recent arguments that we should unbundle or disrupt higher education, Jason Owen-Smith argues that research universities are unique gems that deserve our financial and social support. While they are complex and costly, their enduring value is threefold: they simultaneously act as sources of new knowledge, anchors for regional and national economies, and hubs that connect disparate parts of society. Based on his stellar research, he offers a stirring and timely defense of an endangered class of institutions just in time.
Review Quotes: "A well-argued, data-rich defense of the irreplaceable role of American research universities--not only in science, engineering, and education, but in our national life. Now, more than ever, we need this book's deep appreciation of research universities' power to be sources, anchors, and hubs for 'beautiful accidents' in learning and innovation."--Kei Koizumi, American Association for the Advancement of Science