January 30, 2008 - 1:00am
By David J. Skorton
What makes a great research university? The usual answers to this question are outstanding faculty, excellent and committed staff, talented students, cutting-edge facilities and robust institutional support for scholarly activities. All of these are true, but perhaps the core characteristic of a great research university is the presence of graduate and professional education.
Much of the rhetoric surrounding higher education tends to focus on undergraduate education, including discussions of access to higher education itself, tuition, financial aid, student life and other matters.