“Unfettered”: The Uninhibited University Professors?
Ian F. McNeely, The University Unfettered (New York: Columbia University Press, March 26, 2025). $30: 344pp: Bibliographical references and index. ISBN: 978-0-231220-58-3.
**
“After generations of fickle state support, public universities behave more and more like their private counterparts—charging what the market will bear, offering what consumers demand, competing relentlessly with peers, and managing their own priorities… U.S. public universities emerged largely intact after a decade of disruption bookended by a financial crisis and a pandemic. Resisting widespread calls for corporate reinvention or ‘disruptive innovation,’ they hewed to their core missions. If anything, exposure to the rigors of competition only enhanced their longstanding commitments to the public good.”
This blurb is repeated in the middle of the “Introduction”. I searched for “public good” across the rest of the book in an attempt to understand this reference. The next mention is followed with a sentence that indicates this good refers to “robust student enrollment, vibrant faculty research, and record-setting philanthropic donations”. How exactly are two of these in the public good: high enrollment and profits in donations are clearly only in these institutions’ good… It seems the idea is that universities are right to solicit funding because they will do good with it. But just what good they will do is not clarified. Like this blurb, this book seems to be full of empty phrases without concrete explanations amid a general puffery of universities.
“The story of a single public research university that was a generation ahead of its peers in repositioning itself for an independent future.” Neither this blurb nor the introduction, nor the first chapter mentions the name of this university that this book is about. Since McNeely is a Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, he must be talking about his own university… He mentions universities in North Carolina a few times, focusing mostly on that Chapel Hill was sued over its diversity policies. “It answers eight fundamental questions about how any contemporary university balances competing missions—questions about how money is spent, how education and knowledge are pursued, and how decisions get made.”
As I searched this book for “$”, I found mostly references to the philosophical solicitation of a $1.6 billion endowment by this unnamed “University”. There were no references to how this money would be “spent”. Few details are offered just how this money was solicited and from whom. Generalities are offered instead. For example: “A separate $425 million megadonation from a different donor followed in 2022 for a separate applied-research minicampus”. This is entirely general and unhelpful for explaining who’s giving money, why, and what this signifies. The only breakdown is that this funding was split between scholarships, academic programs, and construction. That’s pretty much the three possible categories for how money can be spent at a university… There is also a mention of how underpaid and unappreciated adjunct instructors are: whose numbers are growing, while professors’ numbers have remained consistent. And there is a curious mention that $5 million was spent on “rebranding” that seems to have included paying “ex-reporters” who had lost their newspaper jobs (due to online media) to be hired as university puffers, or marketers.
“Each chapter blends deeply informed reconstruction of strategic decisions at one university with concise analyses of the entire sector.” There are a few semi-specific uncited mentions of general money being raised and spent by an unnamed university. No examples, or concrete data is given from other universities. And then broad philosophical conclusions are arrived at, without any rational proof to substantiate them. I noticed one Table 4.1 with some specific data. The notes section at the back of the book mentions some other tables in other sources with links to them. One table is for the graduation rates of minority students. I found 1 other table in this book itself: “Table 7.1. Demographic Diversity”: it shows an increase in non-white and women students and faculty between 2010 and 2020. Since this book does not advertise itself as being about DEI, it is odd that so much of it is about diversity. This has a nefarious air about it. And there’s just generally something terribly wrong with this book. Why is this author afraid of specifying he is talking about his own university? Or is he talking about somebody else and is afraid of directly criticizing a rival school?
I do not recommend reading this book, unless those who have read this review are interested in learning more.
--Pennsylvania Literary Journal: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-summer-2025/

Thought-provoking, timely, and essential for education reformists 🎓📖. The University Unfettered is a bold, intelligent examination of academia’s challenges and possibilities. Ian F. McNeely delivers complex ideas with clarity, making this accessible for educators, students, and anyone passionate about knowledge. I appreciated the fresh perspective on how universities can evolve to better serve society. A vital read for anyone invested in the future of higher education.

It seemed a pertinent time to read a book about higher education in America. Under the current president, it is being challenged and harangued like never before.

Mr McNeely has written a detailed and academic insight into a system which has changed a great deal since inception. Changed in purpose and in focus. The detail at times was a struggle as I’m not an expert. I was also curious on how the system varied from the US to the UK system.

The book is easy to read in the sense of clear and well laid out even if the writing is complex.

The move from places of personal growth and self development, to capitalist institutions making money from STEM areas in particular, has happened very quickly. Across the world there seems to be a loss of respect for the humanities and a push towards science and engineering. Personally I think it’s ironic that this is at a time when we need philosophers more than ever.

There is a section on DEI which again is very relevant. The misunderstandings around this topic are shocking ~ and very sad ~ and the author documents how white students are taking/have taken legal action against some universities.

This is the sort of book that I wish people in authority would read but also I believe that those who most need to read it, never will because they’re the ones creating the problems.

It would be interesting to see if Mr McNeely writes an updated book or ancillary article in the next few years to sweep up the current events on various US campuses.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley

Just before his tragic death in a plane crash over thirty years ago, author and Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at the Université de Montréal, Bill Readings, was finishing up his prophetic and unintentional magnum opus entitled The University in Ruins, which then rightfully spoke to “contemporary shifts” surrounding “the University” and how it had socially become “an institution…now up for grabs” (2). He continued: “For its part, the University is becoming a transnational bureaucratic corporation, either tied to transnational instances of government such as the European Union or functioning independently, by analogy with a transnational corporation” (3). One can argue that since 1994 nothing much has changed, and in the 21st century the corporatization of academia has become even more complex and less easy to mitigate because of the issues Readings wrote about decades ago, and because of the more contemporary issues his pseudo-successor Ian F. McNeely speaks to in his newest book The University Unfettered: Public Higher Education in an Age of Disruption (Columbia University Press).

Read the rest of the review on Cobleskill Commentaries....

https://greatbutunknownperformances.wordpress.com/2025/04/23/the-university-unfettered-public-higher-education-in-an-age-of-disruption-by-ian-f-mcneely/

From a positive perspective, the book has been well researched; however, the extensive research has resulted in some sections that don’t feel as accessible as I had hoped and are a very dense read.
I was hoping for a well-reasoned deep dive into US institutions, but there was clearly a point the author wanted to highlight regarding shifting priorities and also shifts in missions, and I felt that once this point was made, it was laboured maybe too much.
For those in the sector in the US, it might be an interesting take, but for those wanting to learn more about the US HE sector, this could leave you with a clear impression that might not be your own.

I expected deep insights into public universities in the U.S., but the book didn’t delve as deeply as I had hoped. That said, it’s still a great read overall.

Interesting read that provides a unique perspective about current issues that plague the American university system. A must read for faculty, staff, and even current students to better understand the systemic issues that impact us all.

I was interested to read this analysis of Public Universities in America but found it a bit of a dry read at times. But some interesting insights and information.

As an administrator at an Australian university, I found this a compelling exploration of American public research universities. What I particularly appreciated was the way McNeely framed the discussion around key stakeholders—public, students, faculty, and administrators—while also examining the competing missions of these institutions: research, teaching, diversity, and societal impact.

The book thoughtfully analyses how universities have shifted from being mission-driven institutions serving the public good to operating in a more corporate manner—balancing financial sustainability with the need to attract and retain students who generate revenue. It explores the tension between research and teaching, the growing emphasis on diversity and inclusion, and the broader impact universities have on society.

While US and Australian higher education models are not directly comparable, McNeely provides valuable insights into the pressures shaping public universities, what strategies have been effective, and where roadblocks have emerged. A key theme is the waning public confidence in universities—despite their continued commitment to their stakeholders and core missions. The book makes a case that with renewed public support, these institutions could achieve far more.

As an academic text, it can be dense at times, but it’s a thought-provoking read for those interested in US higher education. It also offers useful reflections for international universities facing similar challenges in balancing financial realities with their fundamental missions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

#BookReview #HigherEducation #PublicUniversities #TheUniversityUnfettered #IanFMcNeely #AcademicReads #NetGalley #HigherEd #UniversityAdmin #ColumbiaUniversityPress #Research #Teaching #Diversity #UniversityImpact

This book does not resonate with my experiences teaching at a public research university in the slightest. It's interesting as a case study -- although the anonymizing that is meant to keep people from being distracted by specifics is itself distracting. The discussion of faculty unionization is surprising. But overall I think it is way too optimistic about the wisdom of market forces and the generosity in the "DNA" of public universities.

One of my 2025 goals is to read more nonfiction. This came across my shelf and seemed pertinent to me: though not a scholar of the university system, it’s a system I’ve been tied to as an undergraduate and graduate student.

Clear and thoroughly structured, but sometimes at the cost of being dense or tedious to read. Naturally, a great deal of data and examples goes into a book of this caliber. Not necessarily something I’d pick up as an everyday read.

Waffling between 3.5 and 4 stars, but I think the book is really solid—perhaps I am not the perfect audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for the ARC.

As a scholar, and a citizen who frequently thinks about the position of higher education, I benefited a lot from this book where we a detailed exploration of how the public university functions, via one public research university - where the money is spent was a topic that particularly gave me fresh insights.
If you wish to learn more about how public universities changed and function, I recommend this book. It may be one of the few and one of the best of those few books about this topic.