Readers React: Alzheimer’s research and the USC-UC San Diego fight

To the editor: The reaction of UC San Diego to the recruitment of Paul Aisen and his group of Alzheimer’s disease researchers by USC underscores how universities, founded a millennium ago as centers for scholarship and advanced education, now more closely resemble corporations. (“Legal fight between USC, UCSD could have implications for Alzheimer’s research,” July 19)

The dispute appears to be principally driven by the potential financial loss to UC San Diego rather than an affront to its core values. One wonders if a similar fight would have occurred if the faculty member leaving was primarily an outstanding scholar, educator and mentor.

As a faculty member of a Southern California medical school (not USC or UC San Diego), I understand that university officials are under pressure to deliver financially. But I wonder if emulating corporate culture is a valid, albeit unofficial, objective and basis for policies, and how students and those responsible for paying their tuition view these matters.

Jonathan D. Kaunitz, MD, Santa Monica

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To the editor: It won’t make our planet any greener even if you were to spend lots of money to transplant a good tree from your neighbor’s yard; it only makes your backyard look nicer.

What USC is doing seems to have nothing to do with science but only its ambition and reputation. Science advances through creativity and hard work, not by acquisitions.

Kee Kim, La Habra

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