The Fall of the Ivory Tower: Government Funding, Corruption, and the Bankrupting of American Higher Education

by George Charles Roche III

In the most devastating critique of American higher education ever produced, author George Roche explains how and why the smoke screen of success in America's institutions of higher education mask huge deficits, overpaid administrators and professors, and dismal standards of education. American colleges and universities are the envy of the world. They are prided for offering the finest education available. But do they live up to their reputation? The Fall of the Ivory Tower proves they do not, largely for one reason - government funding. For decades, money from the government has encouraged schools to overspend, overstaff, and overbuild. It has subsidized skyrocketing tuition, fiscal mismanagement, and institutional corruption. Ultimately, it has forced many colleges and universities to change their top priority from educating undergraduates to attracting government funds. In spite of the massive infusion of money - including federal aid, which has doubled over the last few years - Dr. Roche reports that "tens of thousands of students don't know when Columbus sailed to the New World, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, or when the Civil War was fought. Businesses complain that they have to re-educate college graduates in the basics of math and English, and parents protest that tuition costs are far beyond their ability to pay." Government subsidy has created an academic welfare state that will have to suffer radical change if America's educational institutions are to survive. The Fall of the Ivory Tower explains how and why the nationwide financial crisis that threatens to put many institutions out of business may become good news by offering an opportunity to restore authority and accountability to their most valuable asset - the student.

Genres: Education, Politics

310 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1994

About the author

George Charles Roche III (May 16, 1935 – May 5, 2006) was the 11th president of Hillsdale College, serving from 1971 to 1999.

Roche received his bachelor's degree from Regis College (now Regis University) in 1956. He later received a masters and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.

Prior to becoming president of Hillsdale College Roche was a professor at the Colorado School of Mines. He also worked with the Foundation for Economic Education.

The Center for Constructive Alternatives seminar program and the college's widely circulated speech digest, Imprimis, were started during Roche's years as college president. Under his leadership, many new buildings were constructed, including a sports complex that bears his name. Roche authored many books, such as Legacy of Freedom, The Bewildered Society, and The Book of Heroes, although it is believed that Lissa Roche, his daughter-in-law who worked at the college, was the ghost writer for his later books.[citation needed] In the case of The Book of Heroes Lissa is sometimes listed as a co-author and was acknowledged as a major contributor in the book's introduction.

Roche was appointed chairman of the National Council on Educational Research by Ronald Reagan in 1984.