The public good is not merely an economic idea of goods and services, but a place where thoughtful debate and examination of the polis can occur. In differentiating the university from corporations and other private

William G. Tierney is University Professor and Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Building the Responsive Campus: Creating High Performance Colleges and Universities and the coeditor (with Linda Serra Hagedorn) of Increasing Access to College: Extending Possibilities for All Students and (with Zöe B. Corwin and Julia E. Colyar) of Preparing for College: Nine Elements of Effective Outreach, both also published by SUNY Press.