Keeping Oxford on Top.(Special Report; THE EDUCATION RACE)(University of Oxford)

How the world's most famous university works to ensure it deserves that sterling reputation.

No institution prospers for 800 years unless it's good at adapting. So when it comes to the global challenges that face universities today, it might be tempting for Oxford to shrug and say: "What's new?" Tempting, but profoundly wrong.

Oxford enjoys and merits its pre-eminent position as a center of outstanding learning, teaching and research. However it's measured, Oxford ranks among the very best universities in the world. It is also the oldest English-speaking university and probably the most famous in any language. That status brings with it all the mixed blessings of celebrity. You don't educate 25 British prime ministers and more than 30 foreign political leaders over the generations without attracting a certain kind of attention. But fame can be a source of various ills, including complacency. And complacency is something Oxford cannot afford.

We at the university recognize and welcome the fact that we are living in an increasingly competitive international environment. We are used to the presence of strong schools in the United States. But now we're coming to terms with developing countries like China and India, where the creation of world-class universities is an important motor and symbol of rising national aspiration and achievement.

Of course, we're comfortable with competition. Oxford itself is a competitive place: our college system fosters rivalry as well as collegiality, and our academics are used to having to pit their wits against talented colleagues elsewhere.

What does give us pause, however, is the question of how best to keep funding the teaching and research on which Oxford's reputation rests. That's no mean feat. At present we face a $141 million annual gap between the state funds we get for teaching and what that teaching costs the university.

This funding gap is filled by college endowments, transfers from the Oxford University Press and the commercialization of university research. But we can't maintain the status quo. The university has exciting plans for the future that will require major new investment. That is why we just launched an unparalleled fund-raising campaign. The Oxford Thinking project aims to raise a minimum of $2.5 billion to invest in learning, teaching, improved salaries for our academics, research and infrastructure. This is the largest fund-raising campaign in European university history. We aim to transform ...