Piece image
Image by: Sue Cockrell for Davis Enterprise 

Whose University?

From: Natalie Yahr
Length: 00:59:36

Our country is getting less public, and our universities are no exception. But what does "public" mean? And why does it matter? This surprising four-act piece tells the story not just of institutions and budgets, but of people and their values, revealing on the way an elephant, a double-decker bus, vampires, factories, hedge-funds, a school that's a corporation, and money that's blood. Read the full description.

Protestw_small "Whose University?"  is a four-act radio documentary investigating the public university -- what it is, who it's for, and how we understand it, especially right now.   To try to answer these bigger questions, we look behind protests, accounting records, and official statements.  The piece focuses in on the University of California, Davis to help listeners understand choices affecting public institutions everywhere. 

Introduction: The larger values at stake on our campuses.
Act 1: A look at how we think about and describe our universities today and why that matters.  (With introduction, can stand alone.)
Act 2: What happens when you think you that your university is actually hurting the public? (Could stand alone.)
Act 3: Stories of  people who negotiate the public-private boundary everyday.  (Could stand alone, better as part of whole.)
Act 4: What does it take to keep a public university public?  More than you'd think.  (Can't stand alone.)
Credits

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Piece Description

"Whose University?"  is a four-act radio documentary investigating the public university -- what it is, who it's for, and how we understand it, especially right now.   To try to answer these bigger questions, we look behind protests, accounting records, and official statements.  The piece focuses in on the University of California, Davis to help listeners understand choices affecting public institutions everywhere. 

Introduction: The larger values at stake on our campuses.
Act 1: A look at how we think about and describe our universities today and why that matters.  (With introduction, can stand alone.)
Act 2: What happens when you think you that your university is actually hurting the public? (Could stand alone.)
Act 3: Stories of  people who negotiate the public-private boundary everyday.  (Could stand alone, better as part of whole.)
Act 4: What does it take to keep a public university public?  More than you'd think.  (Can't stand alone.)
Credits

Broadcast History

Originally broadcast on KDVS 90.3 (Davis, CA) on June 7, 2010.

Musical Works

Title Artist Album Label Year Length
Prequel while they were sleeping Pre-EP. (Creative Commons Share-Alike copyright) 2008 01:22
We Don't Sleep On Beaches Anymore while they were sleeping Pre-EP. (Creative Commons Share-Alike copyright) 2008 04:06
Dearly Allison Crowe Spiral. (Creative Commons Non-Commercial, Share-Alike copyright) 2010 00:35
Pathless Way Arundas Arundas. (Creative Commons Non-Commercial, Share-Alike copyright) 2010 02:40
Killers of the Hopeful Heart William Elmore a murder of crows. (Creative Commons Non-Commercial, Share-Alike copyright) 2008 03:51
Substitute Akajules Whoever Lights Your Way. (Creative Commons Non-Commercial, Share-Alike copyright) 2010 01:24
Here Comes the Rain Matti Paalenen Hollow. (Creative Commons Non-Commercial, Share-Alike copyright) 2006 00:35
Indus Taylor Hayward As the Covering Waters of the Sea. (Creative Commons Share-Alike copyright) 2008 02:51

Additional Credits

Whose University is a co-production of KDVS 90.3 in Davis, California and UC Davis American Studies. Thank you to my advisor and coach Ari Y. Kelman, to Julie Sze, Grace Wang, Isao Fujimoto, Charlie Bamforth, James Collier, Kelly Ratliff, Fred Block, Karen Watson-Gegeo, Marguerite Wilson, Mark Van Horne, Bev Ransom, Damien Parr, John Hall, Abbie Boggs, John Skarstad, Elizabeth Stitt, Amber Yan, Riot, Mark Chang, Pauline Yahr, “This American Life,” Liz Fitzgerald, Tine Perkins, Alexa Sommers-Miller, Valentina Cekovski, Amy Lee, and Kat Meler.

Related Website

www.localdirtradio.com