Countering recent arguments that we should "unbundle" or "disrupt"
higher education, Jason Owen-Smith argues that research universities are
unique gems that deserve our financial and social support. While they
are complex and costly, their enduring value is threefold: they
simultaneously act as sources of new knowledge, anchors for regional
and national economies, and hubs that connect disparate parts of
society. Based on his stellar research, he offers a stirring and timely
defense of an endangered class of institutions just in time.