University leadership does not have the luxury, or the option, of being anti-government. Public universities are part of the government. The shared mission of public universities can be tracked by the trail of treasure that sustains them. Simply follow the money.
Whether a university is public, private nonprofit, or private for-profit determines how resources flow, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. For example, at public universities, 16% of total spending is supported by tuition and fees, and at private nonprofit universities, 19% of total spending comes from tuition and fees. At private for-profit institutions, over 90% of the revenue comes from tuition fees. At public universities, grants, contracts and appropriations account for 40% of all income. At private nonprofit institutions, 9% of spending comes from government grants and contracts. There are some glaring exceptions to these general trends, and the exceptions prove the rule.
The University of Michigan appears to be financially private: State appropriations accounted for a scant 3% of total operating revenue. In FY 2022–23, the State of Michigan provided a mere $333 million of the university’s $11 billion budget. On the private side, Johns Hopkins University received $4 billion in state and federal funds, according to the Urban Institute. Of course, at Johns Hopkins, this funding comes from its research prowess, which is unequaled in certain fields. From another perspective, Grand Canyon University, a for-profit institution, received over $1 billion in federal student aid subsidies, meaning those funds did not go to state and private not-for-profit institutions. Figures for research spending at GCU are unavailable, but they are likely microscopic.
The dollars that sustain higher education come from taxpayers who rise early, work hard and comply with the law. Other dollars come from students and families who sacrifice today for hope tomorrow, from veterans whose service secured the freedom that makes education possible and from donors who give from the soul. Public university funding is willing and thoughtful patriotism in motion. Americans who believe education strengthens liberty and economic vitality pay dearly for it. These aspirations and expectations, hopes and dreams, should be treated with near reverence akin to patriotism. Yet, institutional arrogance abounds with a “gimme” mentality, a form of arrogant educator entitlement.
Philanthropy fills widening gaps. Philanthropy is confidence. Gifts and grants account for a growing share of university revenue. Philanthropy is aspirational, not transactional. Donors invest in something larger than themselves, like the future of a region, a state and a nation. Charitable giving rises when confidence rises and falls when institutions drift from purpose. Universities earn donor loyalty by transforming students into thoughtful, capable, ethical citizens. Loyal alumni follow impact, not slogans. Philanthropy is driven by the same mindset that led to a national willingness to support higher education with tax dollars. And, that largess should neither be taken for granted, nor groveled for.
Regardless of the mix of dollars from a statehouse, a federal agency, student loans or charitable gifts, universities remain government entities. Public universities are not entitled to money. Universities should be expected to earn it. Public funding is entrusted to public universities. There should be no guarantees.
Mission, not merely assumed ownership, makes a university “public.” A public university exists to serve the people of a state and the nation, not a market niche, an ideology or a narrow clientele.
A remarkable feature of our constitutional republic is that our citizens use their hard-earned dollars, in the form of taxes, to support institutions that both align with and at times confront their own ideas. As citizens, they possess the right to question public policy, challenge prevailing wisdom and critique government itself. A strong republic funds its own critics. But critique carries responsibility. Carl Schurz, speaking from the floor of the U.S. Senate on February 29, 1872, reflected: “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.” True patriotism is not blind loyalty; it is a relentless commitment to ensure the nation lives up to its ideals. Universities must model independent, disciplined, constructive patriotism: thoughtful and rigorous. Criticism strengthens a republic when it aims to improve it. Should criticism become contempt or hatred for the very system of government that sustains it, something corrosive enters the bloodstream of the republic.
Public universities are stewards of the state, not wards of the state. Too much dependence breeds complacency. Too little accountability breeds arrogance. The balance requires disciplined, nimble leadership that is clear about purpose. Universities are political constructs regardless of who is governor or president. As public institutions, universities are entrusted to be engines of economic development, centers of employment and magnets for innovation. But first and foremost, they are places where willing students learn and devoted faculty expand the sum of human knowledge. That mission justifies public support, and every dollar carries expectation. Respect should flow both into and out of our nation’s campuses.
Citizens who believe in self-government sustain our institutions as beacons of republicanism. Those doing the sustaining work are taxpayers who expect discipline, donors who believe in excellence, and students seeking opportunity. A free society must be strong enough to weather criticism of the system that sustains the institutions making the critique. Likewise, universities must never forget they are part of the very government that sustains them.
Money for public universities comes from the people. That fact should steady all the decisions public university folks make, not with disdain for the values of those we serve, but with determination to recognize the power of the foundational values that make the people we serve important and that make possible national purpose: Love of country. Patriotism, rightly understood, is not loud or boastful, but disciplined. Being grateful and fiercely protective of public trust is not weakness, but profound strength. Universities owe that form of patriotism to those who pay the bills.
Walter V. Wendler is the President of West Texas A&M University. His weekly columns, with hyperlinks, are available at https://walterwendler.com/.
