The Public Good and Academic Capitalism: Science and Engineering Doctoral Students and Faculty on the Boundary of Knowledge Regimes

Abstract

This article examines the research-related experiences of 48 doctoral students and 22 fac- ulty in science and engineering fields at three research universities, with specific emphasis on the intersection of the public good and academic capitalism. Identifying an expansive, intersecting organizational space between the public good and academic capitalism and stressing the dual nature of the public good with serendipitous and accelerated societal impact, the findings highlight three main ways in which science and engineering faculty negotiate intersections, including complementary, cautiously complementary, and opposi- tional negotiations. The findings, providing the basis for a model that depicts the expan- sive organizational space between the public good and academic capitalism and the three manners of negotiating intersections, highlight the nuances of contemporary scientific knowledge production at universities.