In Defense of American Higher Education / Edition 1

by Philip G. Altbach, Patricia J. Gumport, D. Bruce Johnstone

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801866555
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	09/05/2001
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.97(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Philip G. Altbach is the J. Donald Monan, SJ, Professor of Higher Education and director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College.

Patricia J. Gumport is a professor of education, the vice-provost for graduate education, and the director of the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research at Stanford University. She is coeditor of the fourth edition of American Higher Education in the Twenty-first Century: Social, Political, and Economic Challenges and In Defense of American Higher Education, both published by Johns Hopkins.

D. Bruce Johnstone is SUNY Distinguished Service Professor of Higher and Comparative Education Emeritus at the State University of New York at Buffalo, author of Financing Higher Education: Cost-Sharing in International Perspective, and coeditor of In Defense of American Higher Education, also published by Johns Hopkins.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part I. The University in Society
Chapter 1: The American Academic Model in Comparative Perspective
Chapter 2. Higher Education as a Mature Industry
Chapter 3. The "Crisis" Crisis in Higher Education: Is that a Wolf or a Pussycat at the Academy's Door?
Chapter 4. Built to Serve: The Enduring Legacy of Public Higher Education
Chapter 5. The Mass Higher Education to Universal Access: The American Advantage
Chapter 6. Higher Education and Those "Out of Control Costs"
Part II. Within the Academy
Chapter 7. The Liberal Arts and the Role of Elite Higher Education
Chapter 8. The Technological Revolution: Reflections on the Proper Role of Technology in Higher Education
Chapter 9. Academic Change and Presidential Leadership
Chapter 10. Graduate Education and Research
Chapter 11. College Students Today: Why We Can't Leave Serendipity To Chance
Chapter 12. Governance: The Remarkable Ambiguity
Chapter 13. Understanding the American Academic Profession
List of Contributors
Index

What People are Saying About This

Martin Meyerson

"This is a splendid book that will give readers a panoramic overview of university affairs, among the most important aspects of the American political economy, and its social system and the visions for it."

From the Publisher

This is a splendid book that will give readers a panoramic overview of university affairs, among the most important aspects of the American political economy, and its social system and the visions for it.
—Martin Meyerson, University Professor Emeritus and President Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania

Editorial Reviews

Belongs on any academic bookshelf that seeks to balance the wave of criticism now so prevalent in the field.
—University Business

A confident overview of the current condition of today's universities. Researchers, policymakers, and graduate students will appreciate the opportunity to react to some of the best minds in the field of higher education as they examine the state of the American university and predict its future direction.
—Brandyn Payne, Peabody Journal of Education

The value of this thoughtful collection of essays is more in its enduring than its timely concerns. The legacy of American higher education, we are reminded, is one of resilience, promise, and, to be sure, excellence despite the many challenges it faces in the near and longer terms.
—Matthew Miller, Planning for Higher Education

The contributions are informative and gather together scholars and evidence from many areas.
—Leonard L. Baird, Teachers College Record

Comprehensive and informative to both academic and non-academic readers.
—Elise Langan, Higher Education Policy

From the Publisher

The value of this thoughtful collection of essays is more in its enduring than its timely concerns. The legacy of American higher education, we are reminded, is one of resilience, promise, and, to be sure, excellence despite the many challenges it faces in the near and longer terms.

Planning for Higher Education - Matthew Miller

Comprehensive and informative to both academic and non-academic readers.

— Elise Langan

Higher Education Policy

The contributions are informative and gather together scholars and evidence from many areas.

— Leonard L. Baird

Teachers College Record

A confident overview of the current condition of today's universities. Researchers, policymakers, and graduate students will appreciate the opportunity to react to some of the best minds in the field of higher education as they examine the state of the American university and predict its future direction.

— Brandyn Payne

Peabody Journal of Education

"Comprehensive and informative to both academic and non-academic readers."

Higher Education Policy - Elise Langan

"The contributions are informative and gather together scholars and evidence from many areas."

Teachers College Record - Leonard L. Baird

"A confident overview of the current condition of today's universities. Researchers, policymakers, and graduate students will appreciate the opportunity to react to some of the best minds in the field of higher education as they examine the state of the American university and predict its future direction."

Peabody Journal of Education - Brandyn Payne

"Belongs on any academic bookshelf that seeks to balance the wave of criticism now so prevalent in the field."

University Business

This is a splendid book that will give readers a panoramic overview of university affairs, among the most important aspects of the American political economy, and its social system and the visions for it.

Martin Meyerson