What are universities for?

The Meaning of Stefan Collini

by Martin McQuillan April 3, 2012

It would be extremely therapeutic for all of those involved in the management of higher education in the UK today to read Stefan Collini’s What are Universities For? (Penguin 2012). This is not because Collini actually answers the question his title poses (and he is the first to acknowledge this) but because Collini articulates in eloquent, silken prose what every ‘ordinary’ academic in the country thinks but is either too lacking in self-confidence or too ill-informed of the issues to say for themselves.

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What is Collini for?

by Debbie McVitty March 5, 2012

Stefan Collini’s much-anticipated book, What are Universities For? (Penguin, 2012) has not been received with universal approbation. The several positive reviews are in danger of being overshadowed by the rather bad-faith effort from Peter Conrad in the Guardian. This post is not a comprehensive review of the book, but a wonk’s reflections on some of the ideas that Collini presents.

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