All this has critics on campus fretting that the university may be becoming famous for the wrong reason.

The university, it must be said, has become infinitely more commercial-minded.

How did a university become such a hotbed of artistic experimentation?

Small universities with the Scottish mentality of 'useful learning are becoming more successful so get used to it.

But as the university has become ever more selective the competition for admission has raised questions about the costs of diversity.

In recent years, far more of the top urban research universities have become engaged in supporting the communities around them.

For their part, universities have become more willing to accept corporate money.

The university has become such a magnet for foreigners that some students have complained about a lack of connection to the local populace.

By contrast, public universities have become increasingly weak and today are barely able to finance their most basic operations.

Worse, the university has become what educators call a bottom feeder.