Contents:
Introduction
Part One - The University in SocietyChapter 1: The American Academic Model in Comparative Perspective - Philip G. Altbach
Chapter Two: Higher Education as a Mature Industry - Arthur Levine
Chapter Three: The ""Crisis"" Crisis in Higher Education: Is that a Wolf or a Pussycat at the Academy's Door? - Robert Birnbaum and Frank Shushok Jr.
Chapter Four: Built to Serve: The Enduring Legacy of Public Higher Education - Patricia J. Gumport
Chapter 5: The Mass Higher Education to Universal Access: The American Advantage - Martin Trow
Chapter 6: Higher Education and Those ""Out of Control Costs"" - D. Bruce Johnstone
Part Two - Within the Academy
Chapter 7: The Liberal Arts and the Role of Elite Higher Education - Nannerl O. Keohane
Chapter 8: The Technological Revolution: Reflections on the Proper Role of Technology in Higher Education - Jack M. Wilson
Chapter 9: Academic Change and Presidential Leadership - Richard M. Freeland
Chapter 10: Graduate Education and Research - Jules B. Lapidus
Chapter 11: College Students Today: Why We Can't Leave Serendipity To Chance - George D. Kuh
Chapter 12: Governance: The Remarkable Ambiguity - George Keller
Chapter 13: Understanding the American Academic Profession - Martin J. Finkelstein
List of Contributors
Index
The current era in higher education is characterized by increased need for accountability and fiscal constraint coupled with demands for increased productivity. Higher education is expected to meet the demand of changing student demographics, as well as requests for research and service from government and industry. To preserve the academy's ability to meet these demands, the editors and contributors to this volume argue that, while change is inevitable and desirable, any radical alterations to the practices that have established and upheld the excellence of higher education in the United States must be carefully considered. The editors and contributors cherish the best ideals of higher education: academic freedom, commitment to both inquiry and teaching, and preservation of an independence of mind and spirit in the face of external pressures. At the same time, the authors of these essays also reflect upon the failings of higher education, including problematic historical legacies such as racism, sexism, and anti-semitism. In Defense of American Higher Education is a careful analysis of what we have inherited, undertaken with a critical eye for constructive reform. It will be of interest to anyone concerned about the future of American higher education.