# Universities Can Put Their Economic Clout to Good Use

Opinion

— November 17, 2014

As seen in: The Chronicle of Higher Education

![Michael Posner](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_046658.jpg?itok=t24nqftK)

By Michael Posner

> Beyond their essential missions as institutions of higher education that teach and inspire, conduct research and publish scholarship, \[universities\] also have a responsibility to respect human rights in the ways they operate.

In every major movement for greater democracy and the protection of human rights, university students have played a central role. From Tiananmen in China to Tahrir in Egypt, student movements have elevated public discourse on human rights. On some human-rights issues that affect universities themselves, such as in addressing global sweatshop practices, student groups have served as catalysts, prompting colleges and universities to assume a leadership role in our society.

Beyond their essential missions as institutions of higher education that teach and inspire, conduct research and publish scholarship, they also have a responsibility to respect human rights in the ways they operate. When the issue of global labor practices in manufacturing emerged in the 1990s, American colleges and universities led the way in developing practical labor standards and better, affordable ways to monitor and improve the production of their licensed products.

In the midst of football season, it is clear to see the economic benefit that licensing provides to American universities; the market for licensed collegiate merchandise is worth an estimated $4.5-billion a year. And while there has been tremendous progress since the birth of the antisweatshop movement on campuses, in the 1990s, some universities still need to assume greater responsibility for labor rights in their licensing programs.

Read full article as published in [The Chronicle of Higher Education](http://chronicle.com/article/Universities-Can-Put-Their/150071/)

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*Michael Posner is a Professor of Business and Society and Co-Director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.*

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