BTW, my alma-mater, Rutgers U.,
is state-owned (it's the State University of New Jersey) but the charter strictly limits government influence. I think we'd have more ethics problems if the state was more involved. The state wants more direct control and periodically goes to court to try to get it. (Most recently when they tried to "reorganize" the university, which would have spun off one of the constituent colleges. That attempt failed spectacularly.)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...lls_repor.html