Journal ArticleA major challenge for contemporary public research universities is the need to affirm to the public and to the political community that the quality of higher education found at these largely autonomous institutions is of such import that it should be sustained by both public and private support. This challenge is made all the more difficult by the growing reluctance expressed by both state and federal policymakers to fund the university's educational mission at anywhere near the level university officials feel is required to sustain that mission. A further complication is the perception within a growing number of politically influential groups that research universities have largely eluded the beneficial effects of market-driven efficiency
