Introduction

Abstract

This chapter outlines the argument of the book and introduces the reader to the major analytical concepts used to explore the naming process. The reader is introduced to the concepts of relevance and desire developed and used later in the book to explore the naming and branding process. A major impediment to the transparency of higher education, its emancipatory potential, and its capacity for diversity is the gaming of administrators, faculty, and students. The main argument of the book is that higher education should not be selective, that it should be transparent, that higher education is a public good and community-based resource, and that branding higher education is antithetical to democratic principles and the public good.