Daniel Hamermesh, an economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin and Royal Holloway University of London, has come up with a tantalizing idea to end the financial woes of universities and the academics who teach at them. Companies are already paying huge sums for naming rights on football stadiums and campus buildings. So why not go a step further?, he asks. “Five hundred students stare at me for 1-1/4 hours 28 times each fall semester. The university could ask me to advertise—wear a cap, or a T-shirt, just like a tennis star—showing the product of whichever companies bid the most for the rights to advertise on my apparel during class,” he writes. Imagine the product-placement possibilities ... not to mention the endorsement dollars universities would rake in if enough professors played along. Of course, professors would be entitled to a cut of the proceeds (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), Hamermesh adds. But it would be money well spent. (
To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.
Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.
Don’t have an account? Sign up now.
A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.
