I have seen the future of college, and it is handmade sleigh beds

From the NYT, a critical look at massive university endowments. The lens on the subject is tiny Berea College in Kentucky:

"Berea’s $1.1 billion endowment, which puts the college among the nation’s wealthiest. But unlike most well-endowed colleges, Berea has no football team, coed dorms, hot tubs or climbing walls. Instead, it has a no-frills budget, with food from the college farm, handmade furniture from the college crafts workshops, and 10-hour-a-week campus jobs for every student."

So the "traditional mountain crafts" might be a little much, but the Berea model ends up sounding less like Amish U and more like a progressive future for higher ed, especially compared to its consumerist counterparts and their hoarded endowment wealth.

In short, an insightful investigation of whether the era of endowments existing above public scrutiny might be coming to a close. Unexpectedly, Amherst "$1 million per student endowment" College president puts it really well:

“Congress, the media, the public all have an interest in knowing whether we’re using our resources to make sure the best students have access to the best education,” he said. “They should be asking, are we really affordable? Are we offering the highest quality education? Are we directing graduates to think about their social responsibilities?”