The UIA has always been deeply committed to the role of public universities as engines of social mobility, so we were proud last year when UIA institutions did exceptionally well in an important 2017 ranking by the Brookings Institution of which public universitites contribute most to social mobility.
The ranking identifies which public universities best act as “ladders” for social mobility and which function more as “labs” — using research to expand knowledge in a way that benefits the public. The report also identifies “laggards,” public universities that are neither acting as engines of social mobility nor producing beneficial research.
Our own UC Riverside was listed in the top ten area of the “leaders” portion of the report, the section that highlights institutions that are strong on both social mobility and research. UCR ranked ninth of 72 such institutions. Other UIA schools that were named strong on both measures were Georgia State University, University of Central Florida, Oregon State University, and University of Texas at Austin. Michigan State University and Purdue University were named to the “labs” portion of the report for their strong contributions to world class research.
The report takes the bold stance that the upper-middle class is over-represented in American public universities, particularly at “low-mobility, low research” institutions and that universities which are subsidized by the public should prioritize educational access, social mobility, and research that benefits the public. Read more here.