The University and the City
John Goddard
Emeritus Professor of Regional Development Studies
Outline
• Re-inventing the Civic University
• The university and the public good
• Managing the tensions between academic excellence
and access
• Strategic positioning of individual universities
• Newcastle University and the creative city
Academic Perspectives
• Higher education research and policy focuses
on the university as an institution.
• City and regional research and policy focuses on
research and innovation systems.
• Both under problematise the other and neglect
the holistic nature of cities and of universities.
What is the University?
• Corporate identity or sheltered workshop for
academic tribes.
• Autonomous or state regulated.
• High/low in National higher education
systems/hierarchy.
• Sources of income (global/national/local).
• Campus/Non-campus.
What is the City?
• Legal entity or a node on global networks of
flows.
• Weakly/strongly connected set of actors and
agencies.
• Self sufficient/dependent on the nation state.
• High/low in the national settlement
system/hierarchy.
• Dense/dispersed physical form.
Cities AND Universities
• Nature of relationships highly contingent on
specific city and university circumstances.
• What is/should be the role of the university in the
city?
• How can/do universities engage with external
actors in meeting city needs?
• How do/can cities support universities in
achieving their ambitions.
Civic Universities and University Cities
• City status and presence of a university have
gone hand in hand through history
(Bender/Reich).
• Changing role of the nation state in mediating
the relationship between universities and cities.
• Disconnect between higher education policy and
urban/regional policy
• The re-emergence of the Civic University.
The University and the Knowledge Society
• “The great significance of the university is that it
can be the most important site of connectivity in
the Knowledge society… (and)… a key
institution for formation of cultural and
technological citizenship … (and)… for reviving
the decline of the public sphere”.
Gerard Delanty (2002)
Universities as “cities of intellect”
Clark Kerr (2002)
Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities
and Skills (1)
• “lay the foundations for further knowledge and wealth”
• “(be) a vital element in the development of communities
and regions”.
• “(be) integral to our national culture and a cohesive
society (and) nurture the shared values that bind us
together”.
• “Unlock British talent and support economic growth
through innovation as never before”.
• “(ensure) the financial benefits (of intellectual property)
flow through the economy (and) bring about the wider
diffusion of knowledge across the country”.
Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities
and Skills (2)
• “The closer a country is to the “technological frontier”….
The more dependent is its growth on a highly educated
workforce. For these countries – and regions –
innovation, so dependent on higher level skills, is
particularly important to their economic progress”.
• “The strength of DIUS should be in its ability to bring all
these aspects of higher policy – teaching and research
together”.
• “I am minded to conclude that in the future we do need a
significant concentration of research activity. I don’t see
the future as a step-by-step dilution (or) spread of
research activity”.
Structural tensions (Calhoun 2009)
• Knowledge may be in the public interest but not widely circulated
• Excellence in the academy is measured in terms of exclusivity
• “Public support of universities is based on the effort to educate
citizens in general, to share knowledge, to distribute it as widely as
possible, and to produce in accord with publically articulated
purposes. This is specially pronounced as one of the guiding
principles of democracy, which is held to depend on an educated
citizenry, but also of economic development, especially as this
requires technical expertise and general education of participants”
• “If the field has no authoritative knowledge it has nothing valuable to
share”
On Hierarchies
(Calhoun 2009)
• Hierarchies of universities and cities – the
excellence/accessibility trade off
• Real knowledge is “eventually” good for humanity as a
whole but benefits unequally trickle down
• “We treat our opportunities to do research not as a public
trust but as a reward for success in previous studies”
• “Rewards for research are deeply tied up with the
production of academic hierarchy…and the relative
standing of institutions”
Academic Leadership and External Engagement
(After Vestergaard)
Higher Education
rationality
Science and Business
rationality
Synthesis
Role of
government
At a distance
Close interaction
Close interaction but
carefully managed
Division of tasks
R&T: HEI
C: Other actors
R&T: HEI
C: HEI
R&T: Researchers
C: Students and Private
Sector partners (on campus
Activities
undertaken
Guardian of truth
Innovation factory, key
agent in the innovation
supply chain
Innovation cradle
Roles and
responsibilities
Independent
academics
Responsive academics
Guardians of truth and
innovation facilitators
E: Entrepreneurship
C: Commercialisation
A new scenario for HEIs...
New frontiers in research
Public Service
Decreasing Funding
An increasingly complex environment for higher education institutions:
Challenges for institutional leaders
Pressure for Rankings
Market pressures
What and how to
teach?
Increased Accountability
Governance
Higher Education
Drivers
Societal
Education
relevant to
work
LLL, Sector Skills, prof
quals, employability,
workforce education
(Relevance)
Translation of
knowledge
into
innovation
(Applications)
Research
Teaching
Academic
education
World class
academic
Research
base
Academic
DR M.Wedgwood, Manchester Metropolitan University
Some agendas/expectations
of HE
Societal
Widening
Participation/access
Economic Growth
Sector Skills
Business
Competitiveness
Graduate Employability
Employer Engagement
and HE Targets
Professional Quals
Knowledge Transfer
IP exploitation/spinout
companies
Regional Development
and regeneration
Life Long Learning
Workforce Development
Teaching
Research
Foundation degrees
Academic Research
Graduates
Post Graduates
International research
base
Higher Education Targets
Discipline advancement
Learning programmes
New knowledge
Intellectual Capital
World Class Knowledge
Base
Academic
DR M.Wedgwood, Manchester Metropolitan University,
A UK Research Intensive
University?
Societal/employer
Research
Teaching
Academic
DR M.Wedgwood, Manchester Metropolitan University
Post 1992 University?
Societal
Research
Teaching
Academic
DR M.Wedgwood, Manchester Metropolitan University,
A Mixed Economy University?
Societal
Research
Teaching
Academic
DR M.Wedgwood, Manchester Metropolitan University,
University/region value added
U N IV E R S IT Y
R E G IO N
T
S
R
I
C
S
T = T e a c h in g
R = R e s e a rc h
S = S e r v ic e t o t h e c o m m u n it y
S = S k ills
I = I n n o v a t io n
C = C u lt u r e a n d c o m m u n it y
V a lu e a d d e d u n iv e r s it y m a n a g e m e n t p r o c e s s e s
V a lu e a d d e d r e g io n a l m a n a g e m e n t p r o c e s s e s
U n iv e r s it y / r e g io n a l d y n a m ic in t e r f a c e
vinnova (1)
1
Local & Regional
Agencies
TDP
S&T
Uni
Indust
HE
LM
National policies impacting on university / regional relations
Key:
S&T
Science and Technology
TDP
Territorial Development
HE
Higher Education
LM
Labour Market
vinnova (1)
Indust
Industry policy
14
The regionally engaged multi-modal and
multi-scalar university
(after Arbo and Benneworth)
‘Global’
National
policy
TDP
Inward
investors
IND
‘Regional’
S&T
HE
LM
Skills
Innovation
Academic
kudos
‘Science
park
Hospital
Culture
village
Culture
‘National’
vinnova (1)
15
Newcastle universities and the city
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
An entrepreneurial/innovative city
A learning city
A creative city
A healthy city
A green city
An inclusive city
A well governed city
An international city
Newcastle University Mission
“To be a world-class research intensive University,
to deliver teaching of the highest quality and to
play a leading role in the economic, social and
cultural development of the North East of
England”
Transforming Horizons
(Excellence with a Purpose)
•
•
•
•
•
Transforming the environment
Transforming health
Transforming culture
Transforming business
Transforming lives
Newcastle University Transforming Culture
Spaces and Places
• Creating spaces (buildings) where cultural
activities can take place
• Creating places where the university and the
community can come together
• Combining university and non-university
activities in a collectively managed zone or
quarter
The Cultural Mix:
Activities and their locations
• Academic schools and research institutes
• Intermediate organisations (e.g. theatre company,
support for cultural businesses, learned societies)
• Facilities (e.g. performance spaces, display spaces,
digital laboratories, resources for teaching, research and
community use, incubators for cultural businesses)
• Diverse art forms and their combinations – visual, music,
performance, writing, heritage, digital and tactile
School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics
• Long-standing links with Northern Stage: joint dramaturg post
(‘From Page to Stage’ module), potential new MA; research
opportunities, student placements, etc.
• Creative writing (poetry and prose): MA and research for several
years, now expanding to undergraduate modules. Bill Herbert,
Jackie Kay, Jack Mapanje, Margaret Wilkinson, Colin Teevan.
Northern Writers’ Centre with New Writing North
• Research collaboration with Seven Stories includes AHRC-funded
Collaborative PhD studentship in Children’s Literature
• Workshops with RSC (also in Education)
School of Arts & Cultures
• Music: Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning
(£4.5m) with Universities for the North East and The
Sage Gateshead. Joint research projects. BMus in Folk
and Traditional Music with Folkworks. Concert series (all
musics)
• Fine Art: BALTIC Chair in Contemporary Art (Susan
Hiller)
• International Centre for Cultural & Heritage Studies:
teaching and research with Tyne & Wear Museums,
English & Scottish Heritage, etc. Great North Museum
‘laboratory’ opportunities
Other School Links
• Historical Studies: local history (joint AHRB
research centre); archaeology (Roman frontier
studies, etc.)
• Geography, Politics, Sociology: three
research studentships with The Sage Gateshead
• Business School: MSc in Innovation, Creativity
and Enterprise Management; cultural research
projects
Other School Links
• Biology; Marine Science & Technology; Civil
Engineering & Geosciences: use of Hancock
Museum collections for teaching and research
projects
• Neurology, Neurobiology & Psychiatry:
connections between memory and visual arts
explored in Hatton Gallery exhibitions
Research Institutes
• Culture Lab: Digital media including Music, Fine Art, Creative
Writing, Film, Electrical, Electronic & Computer Engineering.
Opening in summer 2006 in the Old Assembly Rooms
• Policy, Ethics & Life Sciences (PEALS): part of Centre for Life.
Sci-Art agenda parallels Culture Lab. Tom Shakespeare, Director of
Outreach and Chair of ACENE – public understanding of science
• Environment & Sustainability (IRES): relationship with Great
North Museum as ‘Gateway to Landscape of North East England’ –
public understanding of environmental issues
Widening Participation
• Museums and gallery have successful track record in education, e.g.
Museum of Antiquities finalist for Gulbenkian Prize, Hancock
Museum under-5s Den award, Hatton Gallery disadvantaged
teenagers
• PARTNERS programme in local schools
• Public Lectures for all ages
• Also key agenda for Northern Stage, Northern Writers’ Centre, The
Sage Gateshead, etc
• ‘Virtual Cultural Quarter’: web portal widening access and building
on museums, rock art website, etc. Links to other partners’ websites
Key Physical Components of Cultural Transformation
•
•
•
•
Great North Museum
Northern Stage
Northern Writers Centre
Culture Lab
Partner Organisations
• Major cultural organisations including Northern Stage,
The Sage Gateshead, BALTIC, Tyneside Cinema, Tyne
& Wear Museums, Seven Stories, New Writing North,
Live Theatre, International Centre for Life, RSC
• Arts Council England NE, Newcastle City Council,
Gateshead Council
• Learned societies: Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle,
Natural History Society of Northumbria, Lit & Phil
Building the bridge between the university and the city