“新美国大学”的前景:对于研究型大学的启示

Prospects for a New American University:Implications for Research

亚利桑那州立大学校长迈克尔·克劳正在创建一所"新美国研究型大学",该校寻求在更多校区和学科中,培养更多类型的学生。新美国研究型大学的独特之处在于:通过本科生培养规模的扩张,积极拓展科学研究,促进大学的区域参与和经济发展贡献。本研究将对亚利桑那州立大学、宾夕法尼亚州立大学、密歇根大学三所大学的科研机构的组织策略差异展开比较研究。亚利桑那州立大学将院系重组为跨学科组织,有效地减少将学生置于某些特定学科中训练的培养模式,并投资创建了独立的生命设计研究所。宾夕法尼亚州立大学在保留传统学科院系作为教学科研基本组织的基础上,设立了多所跨学科的科研机构,开展更为聚焦和有效的学术研究。密歇根大学正如其前校长詹姆士·杜德施塔特所阐释的,提出了成为全国性大学、甚至世界性大学的发展蓝图。该校的科研活动主要在隶属于学科院系的研究中心或科研院所中推进。通过比较不同科研组织模式,可为探究研究型大学的学术核心、尤其是思考传统学科院系和科研机构之间的关系提供重要启示。

Arizona State University under President Michael Crow has sought to create a model for a 'New American University.' ASU has sought to educate more students,of more kinds,in more subjects,in more settings.The New American University is unique in tying the expansion of access and undergraduate enrollment to the aggressive expansion of research and engagement with the region and the economy.This paper contrasts this model with Pennsylvania State University and the University of Michigan,which have different strategies for organizing academic research.ASU has reorganized departments into interdisciplinary units,effectively eliminating training in several disciplines,and invested in a free-standing Biodesign Institute.PSU has established multi-field interdisciplinary institutes to organize research and provide greater focus and effectiveness,while leaving disciplinary departments intact for instruction and academic organization.U of M,as interpreted by former President James Duderstadt,assumes a national or global outlook.It locates research,including centers and institutes,within the academic structure of colleges and departments.These contrasting models provide insight to the academic core of research universities,and particularly the relative roles of centers and institutes versus disciplinary departments.