What do universities owe the public?

The university is one of the oldest and most iconic institutions in human society. It has also been the source of, and subject to, some of the world’s most profound changes and perturbations as it has evolved from a monastic enclave, to a symbol of the Enlightenment, to, in recent times, the preeminent source of new knowledge, scientific ideas and professional training — and, increasingly, a significant contributor tocommunity development. 

At the same time, there is a growing unease, a sense that universities have lost their way; a sense that pervades many within universities themselves and the communities that surround them. How often have you heard that universities have become credential factories, where the main goal is to churn out graduates for the workforce? 

Others complain that the university’s role as a generator of open ideas and new knowledge is quickly being overtaken by expectations of funders, including governments, who expect a return on investment in the form of research that directly leads to commercialization and economic benefit. What those funders often don’t realize is that fundamental or discovery-driven research lies at the heart of the processes and products that can most profoundly transform society. 

Particularly among the general public, there are growing concerns that university campuses have become too politicized and that the higher education sector has become too entangled with activism.Dangerously, such perceptions can be tied to an erosion in public trust, and can consequently lead to the devaluation of the liberal arts education which many believe lies at the heart of our cherished democracy. 

These views, which reflect the quickly changing reality on Canada’s university campuses, ultimately stand to undermine our universities’ contribution to the wellbeing and prosperity of Canadians, and to the local communities in which they are often embedded.  

Universities can and must be more than simply training facilities or factories for revenue-generating applied research. The role of the university needs to be re-grounded in its fundamental mission of generating new knowledge and of educating Canadians by providing a liberal education for students that supports basic democratic principles and the desire to promote social wellbeing, in all its aspects.  

The latter requires a renewed effort to expose students to a vast array of ideas and perspectives. They need to be taught how to think critically and be given the confidence to challenge others’ biases, as well as their own. Because that’s how people learn and grow. It’s how new discoveries are made, and innovations are generated. And, more broadly, I truly believe an open academic marketplace of ideas is the key to fostering equitable, innovative, productive and knowledgeable societies. 

Organizations like SSHRC, where I served as president for over 10 years, have a unique role in supporting universities and their social mandate by prioritizing “made-in and made-for-Canada” research, insights and initiatives that help us understand and meet the challenges of a changing world. The SSHRC supports fundamental research and encourages the development of discoveries and ideas that benefit local communities and the wider world. 

But, despite these and other efforts to protect and fortify the best parts of the higher education system, things can still go awry. 

We need only look at what is happening south of the border. There, President Donald Trump is slashing funding and ordering investigations into universities, trying to make them fall into line with his political agenda — which includes restricting student protests, banning diversity initiatives and policing “woke” course content. 

This, combined with massive cuts to several U.S. research funding agencies — and to research that doesn’t align with the administration’s ideology and policy priorities — has a massive impact on fundamental research, the pursuit of new knowledge, and freedom of expression. We are now witnessing things moving backwards, and real parallels can be drawn to the rise of authoritarianism and fascism a century ago. 

We can take nothing for granted in this context. The fundamental role of the university, within its broader societal and community context, is, in my view, seriously at risk, along with our own liberal democracy. 

So what can be done? I would suggest, as a start, at least three things. 

The first is the protection of academic freedom, one of the cornerstones of scholarly life. It allows scholars the right to freely criticize policies and practices without fear of being reprimanded by the government or the institutions that employ them. This freedom is a privilege not to be taken lightly — and most academics understand that. It does not mean they have a license to demean, harass or belittle the ideas of others. Nor does it allow them to escape the penalty of law when free expression crosses the line into harmful or criminal behaviour. Yet protecting it is paramount to our democracy. 

The second thing relates to leadership. It is important for university leaders to maintain an open dialogue with the public: developing and building consensus together to the benefit of the whole community; settingthe tone for reasoned debate; and enforcing appropriate conduct in ways that promote, not limit, academic freedom. When leaders succeed in this, open inquiry and the pursuit of new knowledge can thrive. This is also the best way to avoid situations where discourse, disagreement and protest within the university community and its environs devolve into stalemate, violence and the use of force, as we’ve seen happen again and again in the U.S. and even in Canada.  

The third element that needs to be reinforced is resourcing. Academic research is a public good that can only flourish with proper investment and support. And yet we’ve seen over the past number of years the gradual defunding of precious university resources. Some provincial governments have routinely limited university budgets and have placed restrictions on their ability to seek funding from other sources, liketuition. Despite considerable investments in recent federal budgets, increases in federal research funding have not kept pace with inflation or with rates of funding witnessed in other OECD countries.  

How can Canadian universities be expected to compete globally — to attract top talent, maintain an excellent level of educational programming, undertake quality research and ensure adequate rates of knowledge transfer — in this context of enduring restraint? More importantly, how can they be expected to serve the public? 

What do universities owe the public? From my perspective, the answer is simple; universities owe the public everything. They exist to serve the interests of society, at all levels, right down to our local communities. What I have attempted to argue here is that they best serve this interest by fulfilling their training and research function within the spirit and practice of open inquiry and debate, while respectingdiffering points of view. 

That is how we best contribute to new knowledge that supports prosperity and well-being, and that fortifies us against the forces of fear, habituation and ignorance that would threaten the basis of our liberal democracy.  

This article is adapted from a speech given at Memorial University of Newfoundland on May 28, 2025.