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. Inthepast,professors_____.
A.could earn as much as doctors B.were able to earn more than engineers C.were not good at earning money D.did not intend to earn money easily正确答案D
