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Is The Partnership Between American Universities And The Public Broken?

Former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chancellor Holden Thorp (L) wrote a new book with UNC-CH professor Buck Goldstein (R) about the flawed relationship between American colleges and their communities.
The University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill
Former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chancellor Holden Thorp (L) wrote a new book with UNC-CH professor Buck Goldstein (R) about the flawed relationship between American colleges and their communities.
Former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chancellor Holden Thorp (L) wrote a new book with UNC-CH professor Buck Goldstein (R) about the flawed relationship between American colleges and their communities.
Credit The University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill
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The University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill
Former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chancellor Holden Thorp (L) wrote a new book with UNC-CH professor Buck Goldstein (R) about the flawed relationship between American colleges and their communities.

American universities are designed to educate students while also responding to a public need. The research and innovation that stems from those schools is meant to lift up communities and the nation as a whole.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with Holden Thorp, the current provost of Washington University in St. Louis and former UNC-CH chancellor, and Buck Goldstein, university entrepreneur in residence and a professor of the practice in the department of economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about their new book, 'Our Higher Calling: Rebuilding the Partnership between America and Its Colleges and Universities'.

But former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chancellor Holden Thorp along with UNC-CH professor Buck Goldstein think that partnership between American colleges and the public is experiencing fundamental flaws. They point to what they say are unsustainable costs of running the schools and high burden on students for tuition costs as signs of that breakdown.

Their new book is a response and a prescription for those flaws. It’s called “Our Higher Calling: Rebuilding the Partnership between America and Its Colleges and Universities” (The University of North Carolina Press/ 2018). Host Frank Stasio speaks with Thorp, the current provost of Washington University in St. Louis and former UNC-CH chancellor, and Goldstein, university entrepreneur in residence and a professor of the practice in the department of economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Thorp and Goldstein will be at the Genome Sciences building on UNC-CH campus on Monday, October 8 at 5 p.m. Their previous event planned for September 17 has been rescheduled to this later date due to Hurricane Florence

Copyright 2018 North Carolina Public Radio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.