The War on Small, Niche Public Universities
Governments love universities that make a niche for themselves. “How delightful“, governments say. “Oh, we’re so proud of you for not following the herd and trying to be just another big multi-versity. You go, girl”. They say all of this, of course, until it comes time to actually fund them, at which point governments effectively flip small, niche universities the bird. In practice, governments behave as though they hate small universities with a passion. There are two separate problems here. The first has to do with the