BookTV: Jonathan Cole, "The Great American University"
Summary
TLDRIn this interview, Jonathan Cole, former Provost and current University Professor at Columbia University, discusses the role of a Provost and his transition back to teaching and research. He elaborates on the concept of 'Great American Universities,' highlighting their global dominance due to research and innovation. Cole expresses concerns over internal threats to these institutions, such as budget cuts, rather than international competition. He also touches on the student loan issue, viewing it as a complex matter with both positive and negative implications for the higher education system.
Takeaways
- 🎓 Dr. Jonathan Cole served as the Provost of Columbia University, overseeing academic programs, deans, vice presidents, and the budget, akin to a COO role.
- 🏫 As a university Professor, he has the freedom to teach across various schools within Columbia University, reflecting his passion for teaching and research.
- 📚 He helped establish the field of sociology of science, emphasizing the social systems' influence on the growth of ideas and knowledge.
- 🌟 Dr. Cole defines a great university by its role in transmitting and creating new knowledge, with American universities leading in research and global rankings.
- 🔬 American universities are renowned for their research discoveries, such as the laser and GPS, contributing significantly to global advancements.
- 🌐 The concept of a 'great university' is not just about undergraduate education but also the research output and global reputation.
- 🏛️ Despite competition, Dr. Cole believes the U.S. will maintain its dominance in higher education for the next 20-25 years due to its strong academic foundation.
- 🚀 He views the university system as an industry that produces non-depletable knowledge, with intellectual property rights and close ties to other industries.
- 🏛️ The greatest threat to American universities, according to Dr. Cole, comes from internal issues rather than foreign competition.
- 💸 Dr. Cole expresses concern over the financial challenges faced by public university systems, which could undermine their ability to maintain excellence.
Q & A
What is the role of a Provost at a university?
-A Provost is responsible for running the internal operations of a university. At Columbia, the Provost managed academic programs, oversaw Deans and vice presidents, controlled the budget, and was in charge of the tenure system.
What does Dr. Cole's current role as a university Professor entail?
-As a university Professor, Dr. Cole can teach at any school within the university system without boundaries. He has the opportunity to teach across various disciplines, from journalism to architecture and law.
What field did Dr. Cole help develop?
-Dr. Cole helped develop the field of the sociology of science, which examines the social systems that influence the growth of ideas and knowledge.
How does Dr. Cole define a 'Great American University'?
-A 'Great American University' is defined by its role in the transmission and creation of new knowledge, particularly through research discoveries that have a global impact.
Why does Dr. Cole believe American universities dominate the global higher education landscape?
-American universities dominate because of their research discoveries, which often have significant practical applications and are not well-understood by the public.
What are some examples of discoveries that originated from American universities?
-Examples include the laser, the global positioning system, and the cure for childhood leukemia.
How does Dr. Cole view the concept of the American university as an 'industry'?
-Dr. Cole sees the American university as an industry because it produces non-depletable knowledge, has close ties to industry, and owns intellectual property resulting from federally funded research.
Why isn't Dr. Cole as worried about foreign competition in higher education?
-Dr. Cole believes competition could lead to more discoveries and innovation. He also notes that other countries, like China, still need to fully embrace values like academic freedom and free inquiry.
What internal threats does Dr. Cole identify for American universities?
-Dr. Cole is concerned about threats such as budget cuts to public university systems, which could lead to a loss of greatness and hinder the production of future discoveries.
How does Dr. Cole perceive the student loan issue's impact on the higher education system?
-Dr. Cole views the student loan issue as a mixed story, with both positive and negative aspects affecting the system.
Outlines
🎓 Role of a Provost and the Essence of a Great University
In this segment, Jonathan Cole, former Provost of Columbia University and current University Professor, discusses his role as Provost, which involved overseeing academic programs, managing budgets, and handling tenure cases. He likens his position to that of a COO, focusing on the internal operations of the university. Dr. Cole emphasizes the importance of the system in fostering the growth of ideas and knowledge, which he believes is crucial for a university's greatness. He defines a great university as one that excels in the transmission and creation of new knowledge, highlighting the significant contributions of American universities to global research and innovation. Dr. Cole also touches on the potential longevity of American dominance in higher education, citing the unique value system and academic freedom as key factors.
🌐 The Industry of Higher Education and Global Competition
Dr. Cole refers to higher education as an industry, highlighting its role in producing non-depletable knowledge and its integration with society. He discusses the close ties between universities and industry, particularly in terms of intellectual property and research grants. Addressing concerns about foreign competition, particularly from China and India, Dr. Cole expresses optimism about the potential for more great universities worldwide and the benefits of such competition. However, he notes the challenges faced by these countries in achieving academic freedom and the value system necessary for greatness. He also expresses concern about internal threats to the American university system, such as budget cuts and a lack of understanding of the contributions of universities to society, using the example of the California State University system to illustrate the potential consequences of such threats.
💼 The Wealthiest University and the Student Loan Issue
This paragraph, although incomplete, suggests a discussion about the wealthiest universities and the impact of student loans on the higher education system. It's likely that Dr. Cole would address the financial aspects of universities, the challenges faced by students with loans, and the broader implications for accessibility and affordability in higher education.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Provost
💡Academic Freedom
💡Tenure
💡Sociology of Science
💡Great American University
💡Research and Innovation
💡Public University Systems
💡Student Loans
💡Academic Administration
💡Global Positioning System (GPS)
💡Internal and External Operations
Highlights
Jonathan Cole, former Provost of Columbia University, discusses the role of a Provost, which includes managing academic programs and overseeing the tenure system.
As Provost, Cole had substantial control over the budget and was responsible for the internal operations of the university.
Cole's experience as Provost informed his understanding of the importance of systems in the growth of ideas and knowledge.
After his term as Provost, Cole returned to teaching and research, with the freedom to teach across various schools within the university.
Cole helped develop the field of sociology of science, emphasizing the social system's influence on the growth of knowledge.
He estimates there are 100 to 150 Great American universities, a select group within the broader landscape of higher education institutions.
A great university is defined by its role in the transmission and creation of new knowledge.
American universities dominate the global ranking of great universities due to their research discoveries and contributions to knowledge.
Cole argues that the United States has a favorable balance of trade in higher education, an industry where it still leads globally.
The American university system is deeply embedded in society, influencing and being influenced by it.
Cole is not overly concerned about foreign competition from universities in China and other Asian countries due to differences in academic values.
Internal threats, such as budget cuts and a lack of understanding of universities' contributions, pose a greater risk to American higher education's dominance.
Public university systems, which produce the majority of PhDs and undergraduate degrees, are at risk of losing their greatness due to state budget cuts.
Cole discusses the student loan issue, viewing it as a mixed story with both positive and negative aspects for the higher education system.
The interview concludes with a call to rethink and improve upon the current state of universities to maintain their greatness in the future.
Transcripts
and our conversations here at Columbia
University continue and now joining us
is Jonathan Cole who is the former
Provost of this University and currently
a university
Professor Dr Cole what is a Provost well
Provost uh is many different things at
different Universities at Columbia it
was really Mr inside as opposed to Mr
outside I basically ran all the academic
programs all of the Deans vice
presidents uh of the various schools
reported to me I also had substantial
control over the budget here so I was
running the internal operations of the
uh of the University I was in charge of
the tenure system I heard over 700
tenure cases uh and it was a great fun
it was a great learning experience as a
matter of fact because I promised myself
that I would uh I would read whatever I
was able to understand and get a liberal
education through uh through doing that
so uh the president was concentrating a
great deal on the outside of the
University particularly fundraising and
publicity and legislation in Congress or
in the state legislature uh no
extraordinarily important decisions were
made without his approval of course but
I was basically running the inside of
the univers so much like a COO that's
right and what do you do now at the
University well I went back to my first
calling my first love which is teaching
and doing research uh the trustees were
kind enough to make me a university
Professor which means that you can teach
at any school with the university you're
not limited uh There's No Boundaries on
where you can teach if the Deans of
those schools will have you and I've had
an opportunity to teach in schools from
journalism to architecture to the law
school to the College of course Columbia
College and graduate students of course
what is your field I helped develop many
years ago it seems like it was yesterday
but it was really about 45 years ago the
field of the sociology of science when
people people thought that science was
produced by great minds uh individuals
but didn't understand that there was a
social system that actually was
influential on the growth of ideas and
the growth of knowledge that I should
say had held me in great stead when I
became Provost because I realized it was
the system that counted well we invited
you on book TV to talk about this your
book The Great American
University how many Great American
universities are there I would say that
probably about 150 100 to 150 Great
American universities and that has to be
put in context of over 300 universities
that offer PHD programs and over 4,000
colleges and universities in the United
States so it's a relatively Elite group
of universities not elitist necessarily
because I think they actually have more
funds and resources to incorporate into
them uh people without means and
students with without means uh but they
are among the top universities in the
world how do you define a great
University well it's it has to do with
the uh the transmission and the creation
of new knowledge and I think the reason
why American universities dominate the
set of great universities in the world
80% of the top 20 70% of the top 50 60%
of the top one 100 by most official
counts or surveys or whatever uh is
because of the research discoveries that
they have made that few members of the
public really understand or realize that
it come from universities I mean things
like the laser things like uh the global
positioning system the cure for uh
childhood leukemia all of these things
had their Origins at American Research
universities and there are great
discoveries that are being made every
day at these universities most people
think of these universities in terms of
undergraduate education which is
extremely important but nonetheless is
not what the United States has made its
reputation from It's Made its reputation
for greatness out of the kind of
research and the quality of the research
that have come from uh our faculties and
our great universities and people from
all over the world are interested in
coming and joining these universities as
students as faculty members and want to
participate in what we have it probably
is the only industry where we have a
favorable balance of trade in this uh
this country and it is one where we uh
still dominate I would say the set of
the the great universities and and
probably will for the next 20 or 25
years what I'm working on now is is
trying to rekindle an ancient debate
about 100 years old about what a great
University ought to look like let's say
30 or 40 years uh from now and despite
the fact that we are at the very top of
the mountain uh we should really rethink
the things that we are doing now and try
to improve upon them okay three
questions from that answer number one
you called it an
industry yeah why well I think that it
is it's producing something it's
producing something that's not
depletable knowledge which is not
depletable if you have it and I have it
it doesn't mean there's less of it for
the world and we're trying to produce
that knowledge in a way that everyone in
the world potentially can have it and
can benefit uh from it in fact we even
sell our knowledge to some extent today
so it makes it more Industrial in that
regard and closer to Industry since we
own the intellectual property which
comes from the discoveries made from
federal research uh grants we have close
links to Industry uh today much more so
than we did in the past in short the
American the Great American University
is no longer isolated it's no longer a
Closter uh it's no longer what people
sometimes wish it was which is to go
back to the 19th century into an
environment that um surrounds Itself by
beautiful buildings and isolates itself
from the rest of the world but really is
something that is embedded deeply in the
society and uh is informed by the
society influenced by the society and in
turn should be influencing it number two
you said we'll be on top for another 20
to 25 years most uh people are worried
about foreign uh competition in uh in in
this realm of higher education
particularly from the Chinese and from
the Indians and and Asian countries
Japan and Korea I'm not as worried about
that as others first of all I think it
would be a good thing if we had more
great universities and the competition
would do good things for the United
States we would find more cures for
disease we might get to cures for cancer
more rapidly if we were competing
against great Chinese universities so I
don't see that as a bad thing I think
unfortunately there those societies
still have a long way to go to put into
place the value system that is necessary
for greatness for example you cannot
have I defy anyone to tell me of a great
University system that doesn't have
academic freedom and free inquiry and
that's something that I have worked with
the Chinese about and they genuflect to
the idea of free inquiry and academic
freedom but when it comes right down to
it if you argue against the state's
policies you wind up at a different and
second class University uh so it's not
clear that they've truly internalized uh
this and I think their best students
understand this when they want very much
to come to the United States and to be
part of this engine of innovation which
uh the American University is today well
you said you're not so much worried
about the the rise of the Chinese in uh
universities uh
Etc is there a threat then to American
dominance and higher education I think
there is and I'm very very much
concerned concerned about the internal
threats to paraphrase from the old
cartoonist Walt Kelly and his famous
cartoon character Pogo uh who said uh
we've seen the enemy and he is us I
think that really we are the only uh
people who can destroy our own Jewel in
our nation's crown and we're doing a lot
to do that right now and there are great
friends of mine who are great scientists
and humanists who fear for the future of
American University is because of a lack
of understanding of what they do and how
they contribute to the uh the welfare of
our our society for example let's take
the state of California which is perhaps
the best example of a State University
system that um is probably the greatest
system of public Higher Learning that
the world has ever known and it is being
strangled uh it is being uh its budget
is being cut by
202 5% a year year if that continues
they will lose their greatness they will
not be able to attract great faculty
members they will not be able to attract
great students not the research grants
they won't be producing the kinds of
discoveries uh that they have in the
past there won't be a Silicone Valley
associated with University of California
or Stanford uh so I'm much more worried
actually about the Public University
Systems which now produce the majority
of our phds uh the majority of our under
graduate degrees and that are literally
being starved to death by the states who
don't realize that it is much easier to
maintain and sustain greatness than it
is to recreate it and if they if they
fail to sustain this greatness they are
going to find it extremely difficult to
rebuild it Professor Cole what about the
student loan issue is that a threat to
the fact that there's a trillion dollars
out there in student loans is that a is
that a threat to the system I think it's
a it's a mixed Story I mean ironically
the wealthiest un
Weitere ähnliche Videos ansehen
Inovasi Menjadi Kata Kunci | Sofia W. Alisjahbana, Rektor Universitas Bakrie
Living in and coping with world risk society - 42nd St. Gallen Symposium
Krystal and Saagar HEATED Debate On Campus Gaza Protests
Zhang Weiwei: China's Rise is SHOCKING the U.S. Military into War it Can't Win (EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW)
100% Canadian University Scholarships for International Students 🇨🇦
"I Told You Something is Coming & Now It's Here..." | Victor Davis Hanson
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)