Change We Believe In

In this week’s readings, we read articles about the interconnections or links between higher education and the broader economy of the nation-state, in this case, the United States. Higher education, specifically, universities and colleges, have always play a significant role in shaping the economic landscape of a nation. In fact, the two extremes; that is, higher education and the economy are two aspects of the same coin and they can affect each other overtime. The following paragraphs are summaries of the main points that were briefly discussed in each articles related to the role of universities within the broader context of the economic system. Galuszka’s made a compelling argument that state-run institutions of higher education have provided proven track records of excellence in various disciplines that are offer on their campuses specifically in Virginia and California. He asserted that there have been signification decreases in funding for state-run unive...

The Sierra Club’s top 100 “Green University” this year was primarily based on energy use in colleges and universities in the United States. Even though the classification of American coolest universities and colleges was based on their efficient use of energy resources, the categorization and ranking also measured other sustainable practices of these institutions. The ranking included the following categories such as “efficiency, food, academics, purchasing, transportation, waste management, administration, financial investments, and a catchall section titled other initiatives" ( www.sierraclub.org ). Through these rankings and the institutions’ energy supply, the ranking accessed the school's commitment and promotion to sustainability. I was surprise from the list of the rankings that Clark University was not even indicated amongst the 162 universities and colleges that answered the survey. It is important to participate in such a nationwide survey because it cr...