In Academic, Inc., Jamie Brownlee explores the multiple ways that corporatization affects the modern university system. He suggests that

Under corporatization, the public mission of the university—which has often emphasized democratic goals and service to the broader community—is being reduced in favour of private and commercial interests. (5)

In particular, Brownlee cites mounting tuition costs and the subsequent rise of student debt; the development of the student-consumer; the increasing casualization of the academic workforce as contingent faculty rates rise; the growth of upper administration and its mimicry of corporate structures; and the continuing prevalence of patents and universities asserting control over the intellectual property of their employees. Moreover, Brownlee explores the repercussions of corporatization for fields such as the arts and humanities, which are not considered to have an inherent or obvious market value. Brownlee reiterates the importance of closely examining corporatization throughout his book, as emphasized when he writes:

The social and institutional rules of the university, most notably its public service mission, often place it in opposition to the values and objectives of the corporate sector. It is these functions of the university that are most threatened by corporate actors and institutions. And it is the sources of tension—between liberal education and corporate job training, critical research and commercial invention, public service and profit making—that have been the subject of sustained debate and opposition. Public universities have come under attack not just because of the services they perform but, at a more fundamental level, because of the values they do and could represent. (8)

In conclusion, Brownlee suggests that those who are concerned with corporatization align themselves and speak out with publics and social movements outside of the university.

 

Work cited

Brownlee, Jamie. Academia, Inc.: How Corporatization is Transforming Canadian Universities. Halifax & Winnipeg: Fernwood Publishing.