Tag Archives: University of Western Ontario

In the current economic climate, state-imposed austerity measures are being used to justify the movement of public revenue away from higher education. The effect has resulted in universities seeking revenue from sources such as contracts with private industry and student tuition fees. While higher education is undergoing this financial assault, it is also being accused of having marginal public value or “relevance” and so of being little more than a burden on taxpayers – with these claims disproportionately bashing the arts and the humanities as useless disciplines. As these budget cuts and populist beliefs spur the transformation of higher education into a market-driven endeavour defending itself on all sides (from both traditionalists and progressives), the engaged scholarship programs being established in many universities stand as crucial forces necessary both to oppose the intellectually and democratically suffocating attack on the institution and to reclaim higher education as a public good. Continue reading →