“A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in the students”

American poet John Ciardi (1916-1986) wrote in the Saturday Review on May 21, 1966:
 
“A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students.”
 
Ciardi’s quote has been included in many books of quotations.
 
   
Wikipedia: John Ciardi
John Anthony Ciardi (/ˈtʃɑːrdiː/ char-dee; Italian: [ˈtʃardi]; June 24, 1916 – March 30, 1986) was an American poet, translator, and etymologist. While primarily known as a poet, he also translated Dante’s Divine Comedy, wrote several volumes of children’s poetry, pursued etymology, contributed to the Saturday Review as a columnist and long-time poetry editor, and directed the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in Vermont. In 1959, Ciardi published a book on how to read, write, and teach poetry, How Does a Poem Mean?, which has proven to be among the most-used books of its kind. At the peak of his popularity in the early 1960s, Ciardi also had a network television program on CBS, Accent. Ciardi’s impact on poetry is perhaps best measured through the younger poets whom he influenced as a teacher and as editor of the Saturday Review.
 
Google Books
21 May 1966, Saturday Review, pg. 8:
A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students.
   
Google Books
The Conspiracy Against Childhood
By Eda J. LeShan
New York, NY: Atheneum
1967
Pg. 219:
The poet John Ciardi put it succinctly {Saturday Review, May 21, 1966) in saying, "A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in the students."

12 January 1969, The News and Courier (Charleston, SC), "They Say…," This Week magazine, pg. 2, col. 3:
"A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in the students."
-- John Ciardi

Google Books
The Gigantic Book of Teachers’ Wisdom
Edited by Erin Gruwell
New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing
2007
Pg. 318:
) A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students. — JOHN CIARDI
 
Google Books
The 2,548 Wittiest Things Anybody Ever Said
Selected and Compiled by Robert Byrne
New York, NY: Touchstone
2012
Pg. ?:
910
A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in the students.
John Ciardi (1916-1986)
 
Google Books
Words of Wisdom (Volume 5):
1001 Quotes & Quotations

By Dr. Purushothaman
Kollan, Kerala, India: Centre for Human Perfection
2014
Pg. 19:
A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students.
John Ciardi