Universities Weblog

Giving to U.S. colleges and universities rose by 3.4 percent last year, according to a new study by the council for Aid to Education. All told, institutions raked in about $24 billion. Here are the top 10 universities ranked according to dollars raised (numbers rounded to the nearest million):

1. Harvard: $540 million
2. Stanford: $524 million
3. Cornell: $386 million
4. Penn: $333 million
5. Southern Cal: $322 million
6. Johns Hopkins: $312 million
7. Columbia: $291 million
8. MIT: $290 million
9. Yale: $265 million
10. UCLA: $262 million

It's no secret that today's university president is more fund raiser than philosopher king, more businessman (or woman) than academician, more lobbyist than teacher. At the same time, presidents at some institutions operate under a public microscope, with their views often dissected by the many groups they represent. And if you're the president of Harvard, the spotlight shines brightly wherever you go, as we've seen recently in the news.

With that in mind, the Christian Science Monitor offers a brief look at the evolving role of university presidents. It's nothing new, of course, but worth considering in light of the Summers flap. Yet the Summers case is an extreme example—again, because of Harvard's influence, though also because of his existing baggage. Without question, people listen to what the president of Yale or Stanford or Michigan or Berkeley says, and outrageous or politically-charged statements will always get the media's attention. But most college presidents go about their duties garnering no interest beyond their campus borders.

Sometimes no publicity is good publicity.