This article discusses the University as an institution in three parts, moving from the abstract to the concrete. The first and longest section begins with the University as a social form or type: what it is, its inner motors, what holds it together; and its outer drivers, what holds it in society. The second section remarks on tendencies in the university in which we now live, the contemporary university. The third and concluding section discusses limits and problems of the University. It is called 'The insecurities of the University'.