Fund-raising efforts among alumni are still limited to a tiny elite in Britain, and are utterly foreign across the Channel. But they could be an integral part of saving European institutions of learning and (as Americans would say) "personal growth" from becoming the Costa cafés of the academy: impersonal, bog-standard, overpriced lookalikes of the real deal, with a limited range of rigidly customised offerings. 

Moving to an American system is controversial. For most Americans, "sending the kids to college" is part of their self-image as parents and citizens (even if that means starting to save money even before you have those children) on their way to fulfilling their individual idea of the great American dream. In Europe, such an education is seen as an entitlement — even at the cost of accepting lower standards of teaching and research. In my own case, my academic career in Britain was paid for by a combination of fees and state bursaries. At Stanford, however, I benefited from the generosity of alumni. The way we pay for our education reflects the state of our society. The inequality of wealth in the US is compensated for by the generosity of alumni and donors who have made these institutions so rich that they can widen access to the poor and the talented.

A few facts: Cambridge, the wealthiest university in Europe, is proud of an endowment that has now topped £4 billion thanks to an intensive fundraising campaign. But it is poorer than at least the top dozen US institutions, even after the financial crisis wiped out a quarter or more of most endowments. One in ten Americans contributes to their alma mater. In Britain, the figure is one per cent. In my native Germany, it would be close to zero.

Persuading European graduates to give something back, not just compulsorily as taxpayers but voluntarily as alumni, will require a profound shift not only in the arithmetic but in the attitudes. Here at Stanford — an alma mater in the true sense of "fostering mother" — I cannot help but think that the grateful generosity towards one's community that is displayed here can only flourish in this country: a country that is founded on the pursuit of happiness, a promise the American dream is meant to fulfil.