# Has a public university ever spun out a department or institute? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2021, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751 "2021-12-28T00:23:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/1 "2021-12-28T00:23:08Z")
I’m looking for any case where a public U.S. university has transferred ownership of a center or institute to another entity. Searching with words like ‘spin out’, ‘divest’, ‘transfer’ just provides me with irrelevant results related to the more standard meanings of those words. And I’m not referring to transferring scientific research intellectual property. Example: A University creates a center that provides some service. It later decides to transfer the function and ownership of that center to another entity, like a non-profit, or foundation, or maybe even a for-profit company. Has that ever happened? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/2 "2021-12-28T00:25:34Z")
One example; [SRI International](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRI_International), formerly known as Stanford Research Institute and separated from Stanford University in 1970. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/3 "2021-12-28T00:40:57Z")
Sorry. You said public university. In that case, how about [Janssen Vaccines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janssen_Vaccines), spun off Leiden University? (FYI, the [Wikipedia category for university spin-offs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:University_spin-offs).) ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/4 "2021-12-28T01:52:30Z")
THis may be as close as we can get, but I was looking for a case that was not spinning out research or technology. I know University research gets ‘spun out’ to companies all of the time; but maybe this “Research Institute” might be the closest there is. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/5 "2021-12-28T01:58:51Z")
Just maybe to help explain. Here are a bunch of ‘centers and institutes’ at Cal-tech. > **[Research Centers and Institutes](https://www.caltech.edu/research/centers-institutes)** > > California Institute of Technology lets say someone said “lets take the Linde Institute ([https://lindeinstitute.caltech.edu/](https://lindeinstitute.caltech.edu/)) and transfer it to its own free standing non-profit.” Or maybe as far as, “let’s transfer it to a for-profit entity.” Has this ever happened for a U.S. public University? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/6 "2021-12-28T02:01:24Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > THis may be as close as we can get, but I was looking for a case that was not spinning out research or technology. I know University research gets ‘spun out’ to companies all of the time; but maybe this “Research Institute” might be the closest there is. How about [Oxford Policy Management](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_Policy_Management)? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/7 "2021-12-28T02:02:31Z")
Would it satisfy the OP if a university started a branch campus that eventually became independent? ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/8 "2021-12-28T02:09:52Z")
maybe. I’m just looking to see what has happened in the past ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/9 "2021-12-28T02:23:43Z")
[Oregon Health & Science University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Health_%26_Science_University) started life as the University of Oregon Medical School. It became an independent institution in 1974. Is that the kind of spin out you’re looking for? ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/10 "2021-12-28T02:36:40Z")
There are numerous public universities that began life as a branch campus or extension of an existing university. I don’t know if these really get at what you’re going for, though, because both entities continue to be “owned” by the state. Maybe more in line with what you’re looking for (but not at a public university), Duke University used to host a Parapsychology Laboratory from 1930-1965. Eventually they came to their senses and the lab was moved off campus and reestablished as a nonprofit, and the university cut all affiliation. It’s still operated as the Rhine Research Center. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/11 "2021-12-28T02:49:09Z")
Gatorade. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/12 "2021-12-28T14:32:03Z")
speaking of Duke there are weight loss programs that were started by people who were at the Duke weight loss center. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/13 "2021-12-28T20:24:35Z")
Argonne National Laboratory, in suburban Chicago, started out in 1942 as the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago, which was part of the Manhattan Project, and created the world’s first nuclear reactor. After the war, the Metallurgical Laboratory was re-chartered as the U.S.'s first national laboratory, though it is still operated, in part, by the University of Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/14 "2021-12-28T20:34:29Z")
Would a campus radio station count as “a center that provides some service”? If so, there are more than a few that cut ties with their host campus and started broadcasting independently or joined their state’s public broadcasting network. E.g.: > **[KOAC (AM)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KOAC_(AM))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > KOAC (550 AM) is a radio station licensed to Corvallis, Oregon. The station is owned by Oregon Public Broadcasting, and airs OPBs news and talk programming, consisting of syndicated programming from NPR, APM and PRI, as well as locally produced offerings. > Due to its transmitter power and location near the bottom of the AM dial, KOAC's covers most of Oregon's densely populated area during the day, providing at least secondary coverage from Portlan... ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/15 "2021-12-28T21:06:06Z")
I think UPenn was briefly a public university during the revolutionary war, if that counts. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/16 "2021-12-28T21:08:11Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > Just maybe to help explain. Here are a bunch of ‘centers and institutes’ at Cal-tech. > > [Research Centers and Institutes | www.caltech.edu](https://www.caltech.edu/research/centers-institutes) > > lets say someone said “lets take the Linde Institute ([https://lindeinstitute.caltech.edu/](https://lindeinstitute.caltech.edu/)) and transfer it to its own free standing non-profit.” Or maybe as far as, “let’s transfer it to a for-profit entity.” That’s exactly what @Dewey_Finn’s example of SRI International is - a non-profit research institute spun out of Stanford. [Draper Labs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draper_Laboratory) is a similar non-profit research institution spun out of MIT. Neither organization was spun off for the purpose of commercializing intellectual property. Of course neither Stanford nor MIT are public universities, but neither is Caltech. So would something like SRI or Draper spun out of say UC Berkeley meet your criteria? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/17 "2021-12-28T21:09:33Z")
[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Berkeley_National_Laboratory), perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/18 "2021-12-28T21:17:57Z")
UC Berkeley still runs the Lawrence Berkelel National Laboratory. From Wikipedia: > The University of California operates Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory under a contract with the Department of Energy However, [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Livermore_National_Laboratory) is no longer operated by UC Berkeley and might fit the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/19 "2021-12-28T21:28:59Z")
[Los Alamos National Laboratory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Alamos_National_Laboratory), also operated by UC Berkeley until 2007, might be another example. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751/20 "2021-12-28T21:52:58Z")
Here’s one. UofL bought out a failing hospital system, and to offset the risks to the university’s cash flow they created a legally distinct entity. Here’s where they were thinking about doing it, in 2017: > **[Interim U of L chief floats idea of legal split with hospital](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/education/2017/04/26/interim-u-l-president-proposes-university-hospital-separation/306782001/)** > > To minimize risk, interim president floats idea of legally separating university and hospital Here it was done, by 2019: [https://uoflhospital.org/news/uofl-closes-purchase-kentuckyones-local-assets](https://uoflhospital.org/news/uofl-closes-purchase-kentuckyones-local-assets) > The transition of ownership from KentuckyOne’s parent company, CommonSpirit Health, to the university’s **UofL Health _affiliate_** is effective Nov. 1. ~Max [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-university-ever-spun-out-a-department-or-institute/956751.md?page=2)