They could also buy the aft section of an old Russian sub, couple the propeller to a generator and plumb the cooling system to the campus HVAC.

They both sound simple on paper but in reality they'd probably cost more than the natural gas pipeline Fairbanks wishes it had.

When public institutions engage in infrastructure projects they need to do a massive amount of work to ensure their ass is completely and totally covered from every angle. Trying to do something off the beaten path, like go nuclear, is a recipe for lengthy court battles and cost overruns. Blazing that trail is best left to the wealthy universities. Modern micro scale nuclear reactors and power stations built out of surplus hardware would be cool but there's a massive cost disadvantage for the first mover.

If you upscale a research design to make a small power reactor, you're designing another SMR.

Do you really think it is that simple?