Nobodyeverwentintoacademiccirclestomakeafastfortune.Professors,especiallythoseinmedical-andtechnology-relatedfields,typicallyearnafractionofwhattheircolleaguesinindustrydo.Butsuddenly,bigmoneyisstartingtoflowintotheivorytower,asuniversityadministratorsmakeuptothecommercialpotentialofacademicresearch.Andtheinstitutionsarewrestlingwithawholenewsetofissues. Theprofitsareimpressive:theAssociationofUniversityTechnologyManagerssurveyed132universitiesandfoundthattheyearnedacombined$576millionfrompatentroyaltiesin1998,anumberthatpromisestokeeprisingdramatically.SchoolslikeColumbiaUniversityinNewYorkhaveaggressivelymarketedtheirinventionstocorporations,particularlypharmaceuticalandhigh-techcompanies. NowColumbiaisgoingretail—ontheWeb.Itplanstogobeyondthetypical“dot.edu”model,freesiteslistingcoursesandprofessors’researchinterests.Instead,itwilloffertheexpertiseofitsfacultyonanewfor-profitsitewhichwillbespunoffasanindependentcompany.Thesitewillprovidefreeaccesstoeducationalandresearchcontent,sayadministrators,aswellasadvancedfeaturesthatarealreadyavailabletoColumbiastudents,suchasasimulationoftheconstructionandarchitectureofaFrenchcathedralandinteractive3-Dmodelsoforganicchemicals.Freepageswillfeedintoprofit-generatingareas,suchasonlinecoursesandseminars,andrelatedbooksandtapes.ColumbiaexecutivevicepresidentMichaelCrowimagines“millionsofvisitors”tothenewsite,includingretireesandstudentswillingtopaytotapintothiseducationalresource.“Wecanofferthebestofwhat’sthoughtandwrittenandresearched,”saysAnnKirschner,whoheadstheproject.Columbiaalsoisanxiousnotbebeatenbysomeoftheotherfor-profit“knowledgesites,”suchasAbout.comandHungryMinds.“Iftheycapturethisspace,”saysCrow,“they’llbegintocherry-pickourbestfaculty.” Profitsfromthesaleofpatentstypicallyhavebeendividedbetweentheresearcher,thedepartmentandtheuniversity,andWebprofitswouldworkthesameway,somanyfacultymembersaredelighted.Butothersfindthetrendworrisome:isaprofessorwhostandstoprofitfromhisorherresearchascredibleasonewhodoesn’t?Willuniversitiesprovidemoresupporttoresearchersworkinginprofitablefieldsthantoscholarstoilinginmoremustyareas? “Ifthere’stheperceptionthatwemightbemakingmoneyfromourefforts,theauthorityoftheuniversitycouldbediminished,”worriesHerveVarenne,aculturalanthropologyprofessoratColumbia’seducationschool.SaysKirschner:“wewouldnevercompromisetheintegrityoftheuniversity.”Whetherthenewsitecanaddtothegrowingprofitsfrompatentsremainstobeseen,butonethingisclear.It’sgoingtotakethebestmindsoncampstofindanewbalancebetweenprofitandpurity. WhatworriesMichaelCrowmostis_____.
A.that they’ll not beat other educational “knowledge sites”
B.that the spun-off company will remain independent
C.that their educational resource will be tapped into
D.that their faculty’s brains will be picked by their competitors
正确答案是D