Neoliberalism facilitated a collision of democratic idealism and capitalism that was solidified in the US in the 1990s, influencing and informing socio-political activity. Higher education was caught in the throes of this cohesion and was identified as an engine of economic and technological expansion, not a public good for the benefit of all. In this transition, the focus shifted to knowledge products for the global economy. How higher education would support the US in succeeding into the twenty-first century, what products could be made and be most profitable, and how faculty could leverage their work as capital dominated the purpose of higher education. This point of crisis impacted the purpose and function of colleges and universities, and shifted the nation’s vision for the role of higher education in American society.