This briefing document provides a critical analysis of the "multiversity" concept, a term coined by Clark Kerr in 1963 to describe the pluralistic character of the modern American university. The analysis, based on the research of D.V. Correia, utilizes Goudzwaard’s ideology-critical approach to examine whether Kerr’s model, while ostensibly pluralistic and value-neutral, is influenced by totalizing ideologies.
The core finding is that Kerr’s university model is deeply embedded with three leading ideologies: the faith in continuous progress, American nationalism, and economism. While Kerr attempted to avoid a "monistic" or religious foundation for the university to ensure adaptability in a dynamic world, the study argues that he instead created a secular vacuum that allowed these ideologies to take hold. This ideological influence resulted in a dehumanizing environment for students and faculty, a shift in the university's mission toward national service and industrial production, and a move away from the university's historical role as a community of scholars.
1. Defining the Multiversity
Clark Kerr introduced the term "multiversity" to distinguish the postmodern American university from earlier British (Oxford) and German (Berlin) models. The shift from "uni" to "multi" signifies the end of a single, unifying vision or "metanarrative" governing the institution.
1.1 Key Characteristics of the Multiversity
• Plurality of Purpose: Unlike the traditional university, which sought a unified "truth," the multiversity serves multiple goals, centers of power, and clienteles simultaneously.
• Metaphorical Evolution:
◦ The Medieval University: A village with its priests (cloistered and remote).
◦ The Modern University: A town with a single industry (intellectual oligarchy).
◦ The Multiversity: A great city of infinite variety with several industries.
• Anti-Totalitarian Stance: Kerr argued that monistic universities (based on the Bible, the Koran, or the Communist Manifesto) are static and intolerant. The multiversity, by contrast, thrives on "productive conflict" and interaction between disparate entities.
2. Theoretical Framework: Goudzwaard’s Ideology Critique
The document evaluates Kerr through the lens of Bob Goudzwaard, who defines ideology as a system of values and norms used as tools to reach a single, all-encompassing societal end.
2.1 The Nature of Ideology and Idolatry
• Totalitarianism: Ideologies become totalitarian when a legitimate goal (e.g., security, prosperity) is pursued obsessively, justifying any means to reach that end.
• Role Reversal: Similar to biblical idolatry, humans create an ideological system to serve them, but the system eventually gains power and begins to control the humans who created it.
• The Secular Vacuum: The study argues that by removing traditional religious foundations, the university created a "spiritual vacuum" that was inevitably filled by secular ideologies.
3. Ideology I: The Faith in Continuous Progress
Kerr’s interpretation of university history is characterized by an evolutionary necessity. He frequently referred to the "imperatives of change," suggesting that the university must constantly adapt or face obsolescence.
• Progress over Peace: Kerr stated that progress is more important than peace to a university. He argued that a mediator must sometimes sacrifice peace to ensure progress.
• The Inevitability of History: Kerr’s model is presented not as a reasoned choice among alternatives, but as an inescapable reality rooted in the "logic of history."
• The "Progress Trap": Critics argue that this blind pursuit of progress leads to a "trap" where growth is prioritized regardless of sustainability. In the university context, this resulted in the degradation of undergraduate instruction in favor of high-growth research and graduate studies.
4. Ideology II: American Nationalism
Following World War II and during the Cold War, the American university became a "prime instrument of national purpose." This birthed the Federal Grant University.
• National Service as a Primary Task: The university’s mission shifted toward defense, space exploration, and technological supremacy to counter Russian or Chinese influence.
• Concentration of Resources: The federal government concentrated 79% of its subsidies (as of 1961) in the top 20 "first-class" universities, creating a massive imbalance in the higher education landscape.
• The Compromise of Intrinsic Ends: By becoming a tool for the state, the university lost its capacity to define its own intrinsic values. Research became focused on "extrinsic contributions" (e.g., nuclear weapons development) rather than internal scholarly inquiry.
• Security as an Idol: The obsession with "guaranteed security" led universities to participate in the production of enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world multiple times, a move Goudzwaard identifies as a totalizing ideological manifestation.
5. Ideology III: Economism
Kerr, an economist by training, described the university in market terms, viewing it as a critical component of the "knowledge industry."
5.1 The University as a Knowledge Industry
• Knowledge as Product: Kerr viewed knowledge as something to be produced and reproduced for economic growth. He famously compared the "knowledge industry" of the late 20th century to the role of the railroads in the 19th century.
• The Managerial Revolution: The growth of the multiversity necessitated a shift from faculty-led governance to a "managerial revolution" powered by money and administrative rules.
• The Use of Business Norms: Kerr utilized business consultants (e.g., Cresap, McCormick, and Paget) to restructure the University of California, treating the institution like a firm (e.g., Ford or United Airlines).
5.2 The Dehumanization of the Academic Community
The application of market efficiency to education had profound effects on individuals:
• Students as "Raw Material": During the 1964 Berkeley student revolts, leader Mario Savio criticized the "factory-like mass miseducation" and compared students to raw material being processed by the "machine."
• Faculty as Entrepreneurs: Professors were encouraged to become "entrepreneurs," shifting their focus from teaching to securing research grants and consulting.
• The Tyranny of the Bottom Line: When the university is viewed solely as part of the economy, personnel decisions and academic priorities are driven by market efficiency rather than scholarly or humanistic value.
6. Conclusion: The Paradox of the Multiversity
The study concludes that Kerr’s pluralistic vision is internally inconsistent. While he sought to avoid the "totalizing" influence of monistic religions or philosophies, he inadvertently surrendered the university to three other totalizing secular ideologies.
• Loss of Roots: The ideology of progress alienates the university from its historical roots.
• Instrumentalization: Under nationalism, the university risks becoming a mere weapon of the state.
Clark Kerr, the influential American educator and former president of the University of California system, provides a foundational perspective on the transformation of universities that resonates deeply with the critique of them becoming "soulless diploma mills." In his seminal work, The Uses of the University (first delivered as the Godkin Lectures at Harvard in 1963 and later expanded in multiple editions), Kerr coined the term "multiversity" to describe the modern research university. He portrayed it as a sprawling, decentralized institution — a "city of intellect" composed of diverse communities and activities held together loosely by a shared name, governing board, and related purposes, rather than a unified soul or singular vision. Kerr celebrated many aspects of this evolution. He saw the multiversity as a response to postwar societal demands: the explosion of knowledge production, the centrality of universities to economic growth and national power (what he called the "knowledge industry"), and the push for mass higher education. Under his leadership, the 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education became a model for tiered, accessible public systems — with research universities like UC at the top, state colleges for teaching-focused education, and community colleges for broad access. This framework enabled unprecedented enrollment growth, democratizing higher education and linking it to social mobility and workforce needs. Kerr viewed these changes positively: universities had shifted from the elite, teaching-oriented "ivory tower" ideal of John Henry Newman to dynamic engines of research, service, and credentialing that served government, industry, and individuals. Yet Kerr was not blind to the costs. He acknowledged that the multiversity lacked "a prophet to proclaim its vision" or "a guardian to protect its sanctity." Unlike the traditional university with a clear, unifying purpose (often moral or intellectual formation), the multiversity was pragmatic and pluralistic — a mechanism "held together by administrative rules and powered by money." Faculty became more entrepreneurial, focused on grants, consulting, and specialized research rather than broad undergraduate teaching. Departments and disciplines operated semi-autonomously, with loyalty flowing more to professional fields than to the institution itself....
