I am finalizing a chapter for an edited volume on Universities and Knowledge Creation that Springer has agreed to publish on some contingency basis. The main thrust of my paper is the disconnect between the organization centric design of most university knowledge commercialization efforts (TTO, patents, science/industrial parks, etc.) and an economy where individuals (entrepreneurs, scientists, creative class, knowledge workers) are key economic assets and levers. From the forthcoming chapter (working title of chapter: Backing the Wrong Horse? University Knowledge Commercialization in an Entrepreneurial Age):

From the founding of Harvard through World War II, the greatest advances in higher education effectiveness (and subsequent demand) were made when leaders such as Jefferson, Van Hise, and Harper focused on individuals and providing value to individuals and institutions in their immediate regions. Undergraduates had freedom in classes and extra-curricular activities and graduate students in sciences and professional schools were afforded opportunities to chart their own paths. Building institutions and structures, at the undergraduate, research, and regional levels made higher education directly relevant to citizens and regional leaders (Rudolph 1990; Cole 2009). World War II and Vannevar Bush changed all that with central planning and resource control for the achievement of national, not regional and local initiatives.

Still working on this chapter and looking forward to sharing the entire piece. The field (regional economic analysis) that this compilation is not necessarily my field, but its an important area when it comes to entrepreneurship policy.

[BTW, this Research Sample category is something I plan on making a weekly feature in 2012. In 2012 the research samples will come directly from my dissertation research. For a bit more about this effort check here.]