In Higher Education, the Rich Get Richer

Funding gap widens breach between Ivies, public schools
By Marie Morris,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 3, 2007 1:08 PM CST
In Higher Education, the Rich Get Richer
Dartmouth College students enjoy the afternoon on the campus green in downtown Hanover, N.H. Thursday, May 24, 2007. The battle for the soul of Dartmouth is being waged in elections for the Ivy League school's board of trustees, which steers its policies and hires top administrators. (AP Photo/Cheryl...   (Associated Press)

As Ivy League schools upgrade dorms, financial aid, and student-faculty ratios, America’s public universities are losing out, BusinessWeek reports. The "Ivy Plus" schools, which include Stanford and MIT, represent 1% of the US student population but are the richest by far. "We can add resources in almost every dimension," boasts Yale's president.

Their wealth represents a brain drain on public institutions and a testament to the widening gap between rich and poor. Last year, Stanford collected $911 million in gifts alone and spent $4 million renovating a Victorian barn where students keep their horses. Meanwhile, state schools suffered funding cuts. "The further you project into the future, the more frightening it becomes," says the Cal-Berkeley chancellor. (More Yale University stories.)

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