There is an increasingly popular view of government to shift costs of education formerly borne at the national level to the states, and the states, in turn to shift costs and risks to individuals that has created a "perfect storm" of economic and political trends. The idea of privatizing a portion of Social Security and the continuing press for reductions in tax bases and tax rates follow this line of thought. Public colleges and universities are swirling in the vortex of this ideological storm as institutions scramble to find new ways to fund the educational enterprise by diversifying revenue sources and addressing new constituents. In response to criticism from state legislatures, and from the U.S. Congress as well, public universities have been extraordinarily diligent and creative in diversifying their revenue sources. As some state leaders begin to pay attention and realize that solutions are needed, they are creating interesting experiments in higher education funding. The author argues that promising experiments aside, a new sustainable higher education policy, based on realistic financial and operating expectations, that outlines the commitments of federal, state, and higher education institutions is needed. It is the view of the author that the higher education universe is converging towards a new model, the "public purpose university," defined not by the old concepts of ownership and control (public vs. private) but by the particular public goals it has elected to serve. In this new model, both research and teaching missions will become more focused, and more collaborative activity will occur between and among "public" and "private" institutions, coordinated by statewide university systems.