How to run the ivory tower?

Books that complain about the state of universities, written by university members, are probably as old as the institution itself. And if there is one institution that needs – and should be able to provide – self-reflection, it is universities. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to comment on a new addition to this genre, Long Live the Ivory Tower, by historian Klaas van Berkel (currently only available in Dutch). It made me think, once more, about a question that I’ve long been chewing on: how to preserve the right balance between functional differentiation and coupling of institutions in modern societies? A bit of context: Dutch universities are publicly funded, and while finances are currently tight, the situation is far less disastrous than what it seems like in some other places, e.g. in the UK. But there is a lot of political pressure to move in directions that are “useful for society,” for example to generate more graduates for fields that have employee shortages (as if…

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