The factors contributing to the greatness of a first-rank liberal arts college are difficult to analyze. Hidden from view in the mysteries of tradition and institutional aura, the insistent questions remain: How has it been done? Can it still be done? In an intensive analysis of three highly regarded liberal arts colleges, Burton R. Clark uses a developmental approach to formal organization to seek out answers to these questions. The author begins with a presentation of the historical development of three colleges, Antioch, Reed, and Swarthmore. He describes in detail how broad institutional innovations were introduced and made to endure. He then carefully notes the unique events, special conditions, and unusual features that are the components of each institution's fabric. Each of the three narratives is guided by comparative categories, that produce analytical and theoretical insights into organizational development. From the above data Clark develops the concept of the "organizational saga" as the central ingredient in the making of the distinctive college. He explains this concept in terms of organizational role and mission, using the historical narratives of the first section to suggest the bases for the development of sagas. In its empirical findings and conceptual formulations, The Distinctive College, first published in 1970, has played an important role in the analysis and understanding of college culture in contemporary America. It is a study of leadership, as well as an examination of how values are realized in the everyday routine of participants in the life of educational organizations. It remains the premier sociological study of institution building in American higher education.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Introduction to the Transaction Edition -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction to the Original Edition -- PART I ANTIOCH -- Chapter 1. Transformation -- Chapter 2. Embodiment -- Chapter 3. Adjustment -- PART II REED -- Chapter 4. Initiation -- Chapter 5. Embodiment -- Chapter 6. Persistence -- PART III SWARTHMORE -- Chapter 7. Foundations -- Chapter 8. Transformation -- Chapter 9. Conservation -- PART IV THE COLLEGE AS SAGA -- Chapter 10. The Making of an Organizational Saga -- Appendix 1. The Research Opportunity -- Appendix 2. Faculty Questionnaire Data -- Appendix 3. Student Questionnaire Data -- Bibliography -- Index

In Realizing the Distinctive University: Vision and Values, Strategy and Culture, Mark William Roche changes the terms of the debate about American higher education. A former dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame, Roche argues for the importance of an institutional vision, not simply a brand, and while he extols the value of entrepreneurship, he defines it in contrast to the corporate drive toward commercialization and demands for business management models. Using the history of the German university to assess the need for, and implementation of, distinctive visions at American colleges and universities, Roche's own vision benefits from his deep connection to both systems as well as his experience in the trenches working to realize the special mission of an American Catholic university. Roche makes a significant contribution by delineating means for moving such an institution from vision to implementation. Roche provides a road map to creating a superb arts and sciences college within a major research university and offers a rich analysis of five principles that have shaped the modern American university: flexibility, competition, incentives, accountability, and community. He notes the challenges and problems that surface with these categories and includes ample illustration of both best practices and personal missteps. The book makes clear that even a compelling intellectual vision must always be linked to its embodiment in rhetoric, support structures, and community. Throughout this unique and appealing contribution to the literature on higher education, Roche avoids polemic and remains optimistic about the ways in which a faculty member serving in administration can make a positive difference. Realizing the Distinctive University is a must read for academic administrators, faculty members interested in the inner workings of the university, and graduate students and scholars of higher education.