Professorial purchaseWhile McGill University ponders its potential privatization ["University, American style," April 10 Mirror], the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) is considering a smaller-scale approach: "privatizing" its professors. The proposal, in which individual professors--not chairs, departments or courses--would be sponsored by large corporations like Eaton and JC Penney is among the revenue-generating schemes currently being considered by the HEC.
"Without adequate government funding, we need to be entrepreneurial and innovative about finding new sources of revenue," said HEC spokesperson Kathleen Grant. When asked about mixing business and academics as a matter of principle, Grant responded, "It's nice to have principles, yes, but the fact is that we need new funds." Philip Preville
|