--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Again and again, universities have put a…" description: "\"Again and again, universities have put a low priority on the very programs and initiatives that are needed most to increase productivity and competitiv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/derek-bok-13117_competitiveness_again-and-again-universities-have-put-a_828783.jpg" --- # Again and again, universities have put a low priority on… ![“Again and again, universities have put a low priority on the very programs and initiatives that are needed most to increase productivity and competitiveness, improve the quality of government, and overcome the problems of illiteracy, miseducation, and unemployment.” quote by Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/derek-bok-13117_competitiveness_again-and-again-universities-have-put-a_828783.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/derek-bok-13117_competitiveness_again-and-again-universities-have-put-a_828783.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/derek-bok-13117_competitiveness_again-and-again-universities-have-put-a_828783.jpg) > “Again and again, universities have put a low priority on the very programs and initiatives that are needed most to increase productivity and competitiveness, improve the quality of government, and overcome the problems of illiteracy, miseducation, and unemployment.” [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Universities often neglect essential programs that boost productivity, governance, and address illiteracy and unemployment. **In simple terms:** Schools ignore key programs that improve economy and education. Key Takeaway Prioritize practical, high‑impact curricula. Themes education economy policy employment literacy Mood concerned hopeful critical Type advisory policy strategic When to use this quote - university planning - government reform - job training - literacy campaigns Key Concepts human capital development public good skill gaps Questions to Reflect On - How can universities balance tradition with needed reforms? - What incentives drive investment in practical programs? A Different Perspective Limited funding and resistance to change can impede reforms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Competitiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competitiveness/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Illiteracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illiteracy/) [Illiteracy Miseducation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illiteracy-miseducation-539625/) [Increase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increase/) [Initiative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/initiative/) [Initiatives Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/initiatives-needed-539623/) [Lows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lows/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Overcoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcoming/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Priorities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priorities/) [Priority Programs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priority-programs-539626/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problems Illiteracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems-illiteracy-539624/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Program](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/program/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Unemployment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unemployment/) [Universities Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universities-low-539622/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [A joint European army is a very far-reaching proposal and it would be difficult to implement. Such initiatives are nevertheless needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/a-joint-european-army-is-a-very-far-reaching-proposal-and-it-would-be/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“But Christian illiteracy is only the first part of the crisis. Even more seriously, even for those who think they speak “Christian” fluently, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/but-christian-illiteracy-is-only-the-first-part-of-the-crisis-even/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [Prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear human beings. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy are only a few of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/prisons-do-not-disappear-social-problems-they-disappear-human-beings/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [“Illiteracy is simply the inability to read and write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/illiteracy-is-simply-the-inability-to-read-and-write/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Illiteracy at the poverty level (mainly a matter of bad grammar) does not alarm me nearly as much as the illiteracy of the well-to-do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/illiteracy-at-the-poverty-level-mainly-a-matter-of-bad-grammar-does/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Building a godly life on the sand of scriptural illiteracy is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-louis-cole/building-a-godly-life-on-the-sand-of-scriptural-illiteracy-is/) [Edwin Louis Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-louis-cole/) > [People are the common denominator of progress. So... no improvement is possible with unimproved people, and advance is certain when people are liberated and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/people-are-the-common-denominator-of-progress-so-no-improvement-is/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The brown toxic cloud strangling Los Angeles never lifts and grows thicker with every immigrant added. One can't help appreciate the streets of Paris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frosty-wooldridge/the-brown-toxic-cloud-strangling-los-angeles-never-lifts-and-grows/) [Frosty Wooldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frosty-wooldridge/) > [“Any philosopher, any international economist may talk to me about the methods I have introduced and the thoughts behind them. Illiteracy is a disability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-sattar-edhi/any-philosopher-any-international-economist-may-talk-to-me-about-the/) [Abdul Sattar Edhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-sattar-edhi/) > [Hatred, intolerance, poor hygienic conditions and violence all have roots in illiteracy, so we're trying to do something to help the poor and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-qadeer-khan/hatred-intolerance-poor-hygienic-conditions-and-violence-all-have/) [Abdul Qadeer Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-qadeer-khan/) > [Immigration along with nonwhite birthrates will make white people a minority totally vulnerable to the political, social, and economic will of blacks, Mexicans, Puerto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/immigration-along-with-nonwhite-birthrates-will-make-white-people-a/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [Ignorance and illiteracy are obviously not synonymous; even illiterate masses can cast their ballots with intelligence, once they are informed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-orville-douglas/ignorance-and-illiteracy-are-obviously-not-synonymous-even-illiterate/) [William Orville Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-orville-douglas/) > [We live in a world in which we are able to communicate very quickly in many different ways, and yet we find communicating more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cruise/we-live-in-a-world-in-which-we-are-able-to-communicate-very-quickly/) [Tom Cruise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cruise/) > [Illiteracy does not impede the practice of democracy, as witnessed by the success of democracy in India despite the high illiteracy rate. One doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/illiteracy-does-not-impede-the-practice-of-democracy-as-witnessed-by/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [Our real illiteracy is our inability to create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedensreich-hundertwasser/our-real-illiteracy-is-our-inability-to-create/) [Friedensreich Hundertwasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedensreich-hundertwasser/) ## More by Derek Bok > [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I think it's sort of an outrage that companies should have to hire firms to teach the college graduates they employ how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-it-s-sort-of-an-outrage-that-companies-should-have-to-hire/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [As countries embrace mass higher education, the cost of maintaining universities increases dramatically relative to an elite system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/as-countries-embrace-mass-higher-education-the-cost-of-maintaining/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [“surveys show that over 90 percent of professors believe that their teaching is above average,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/surveys-show-that-over-90-percent-of-professors-believe-that-their/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [For some students, especially in the sciences, the knowledge gained in college may be directly relevant to graduate study. For almost all students, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/for-some-students-especially-in-the-sciences-the-knowledge-gained-in/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [There is far too much law for those who can afford it and far too little for those who cannot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/there-is-far-too-much-law-for-those-who-can-afford-it-and-far-too/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [An educated man must have a "curiosity in exploring the unfamiliar and unexpected, an open-mindedness in entertaining opposing points of view, tolerance for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/an-educated-man-must-have-a-curiosity-in-exploring-the-unfamiliar-and/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Once you start worrying about a national football championship, then you begin to worry about getting the quality of athlete, and the numbers needed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/once-you-start-worrying-about-a-national-football-championship-then/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I think any self-respecting educational institution ought to judge its policies by its best estimate of what their long-term consequences for their students and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-any-self-respecting-educational-institution-ought-to-judge/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I think the minority students that we admit to Harvard are every bit as meritorious as the white students that we admit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-the-minority-students-that-we-admit-to-harvard-are-every-bit/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [There's a great deal of difference between thinking reflectively about moral issues and achieving higher standards of ethical behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/there-s-a-great-deal-of-difference-between-thinking-reflectively/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Critics of American colleges typically attribute the failings of undergraduate education to a tendency on the part of professors to neglect their teaching to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/critics-of-american-colleges-typically-attribute-the-failings-of/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Early admission programs tend to advantage the advantaged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/early-admission-programs-tend-to-advantage-the-advantaged/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Universities are institutions run by amateurs to train professionals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/universities-are-institutions-run-by-amateurs-to-train-professionals/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [The oldest of the arts and the youngest of the professions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/the-oldest-of-the-arts-and-the-youngest-of-the-professions/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) [Explore all 51 Derek Bok quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) ## More Competitiveness quotes > [There are many examples of companies and countries that have improved their competitiveness and efficiency by adopting open source strategies. The creation of skills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shuttleworth/there-are-many-examples-of-companies-and-countries-that-have-improved/) [Mark Shuttleworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shuttleworth/) > [If you put on your business hat, you can't maintain competitiveness by staying at a competitive disadvantage. I mean, you just can't. The odds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-bresch/if-you-put-on-your-business-hat-you-can-t-maintain-competitiveness-by/) [Heather Bresch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-bresch/) > [I think competitiveness is taken in a different way by different people. I'm not a yeller and a screamer, a jumper and a pusher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-duncan/i-think-competitiveness-is-taken-in-a-different-way-by-different/) [Tim Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-duncan/) > [The challenge always is can we sustain a high level of competitiveness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-donovan/the-challenge-always-is-can-we-sustain-a-high-level-of-competitiveness/) [Billy Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-donovan/) > [A state-based regulatory system is quite burdensome. It allows price controls to create market distortions. It can hinder development of national products and can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/a-state-based-regulatory-system-is-quite-burdensome-it-allows-price/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [It is absolutely critical for competitiveness in the United States for us to really raise the bar in education, especially in math, in science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/safra-a-catz/it-is-absolutely-critical-for-competitiveness-in-the-united-states/) [Safra A. Catz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/safra-a-catz/) > [You don't want to put competitiveness and emotion away, so you learn to play with it. You learn to use it for your team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grayson-allen/you-don-t-want-to-put-competitiveness-and-emotion-away-so-you-learn/) [Grayson Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grayson-allen/) > [Today's competitiveness, so much imposed from without, is exhausting, not exhilarating; is unending-a part of one's social life, one's solitude, one's sleep, one's sleeplessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kronenberger/today-s-competitiveness-so-much-imposed-from-without-is-exhausting/) [Louis Kronenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kronenberger/) > [Stop costly new regulations that would increase unemployment, raise consumer prices, and weaken the nation's global competitiveness with virtually no impact on global temperatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/stop-costly-new-regulations-that-would-increase-unemployment-raise/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [the crucial disadvantage of aggression, competitiveness and skepticism as national characteristics is that these qualities cannot be turned off at five o'clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-crucial-disadvantage-of-aggression-competitiveness-and-skepticism/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [When you work at 'The Daily Show,' you have to give 100 percent, or you're gone. The competitiveness and the minds that work in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-corddry/when-you-work-at-the-daily-show-you-have-to-give-100-percent-or-you/) [Nate Corddry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-corddry/) > [In Poland we still believe - and this certainly applies to my government - that greater competitiveness, and greater growth and savings are possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-tusk/in-poland-we-still-believe-and-this-certainly-applies-to-my/) [Donald Tusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-tusk/) > [Take young researchers, put them together in virtual seclusion, give them an unprecedented degree of freedom and turn up the pressure by fostering competitiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-watson/take-young-researchers-put-them-together-in-virtual-seclusion-give/) [James D. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-d-watson/) > [I try to have a very well-rounded group of friends that did a lot of different things and weren't just performers. Because I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/i-try-to-have-a-very-well-rounded-group-of-friends-that-did-a-lot-of/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [So Europe needs to be competitive and we also need to be competitive if we wish to remain an interesting economic partner for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/so-europe-needs-to-be-competitive-and-we-also-need-to-be-competitive/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) [Browse all 217 Competitiveness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competitiveness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Again and again, universities have put a low priority on the very programs and initiatives that are needed most to increase productivity and competitiveness, improve the quality of government, and overcome the problems of illiteracy, miseducation, and unemployment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Derek Bok" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/again-and-again-universities-have-put-a-low-priority-on-the-very/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Competitiveness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/again-and-again-universities-have-put-a-low-priority-on-the-very/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/derek-bok-13117_competitiveness_again-and-again-universities-have-put-a_828783.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/derek-bok-13117_competitiveness_again-and-again-universities-have-put-a_828783.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/derek-bok-13117_competitiveness_again-and-again-universities-have-put-a_828783.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Again and again, universities have put a low priority on the very programs and initiatives that are needed…” — Derek Bok", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Derek Bok", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Again and again, universities have put...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/again-and-again-universities-have-put-a-low-priority-on-the-very/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/again-and-again-universities-have-put-a-low-priority-on-the-very/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```