Cohen organizes the book around a unique matrix of trends, topics, and eras that enables the reader either to proceed chapter by chapter through a chronological sequence of the entire history, or to easily follow a preferred topic, such as faculty or curriculum, by reading only that specific section in each era.

THE SHAPING OF AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION SECOND EDITION When the first edition of The Shaping of American Higher Education was published it was lauded for its historical perspective and in-depth coverage of current events that provided an authoritative, comprehensive account of??the history of higher education in the United States. As in the first edition, this book tracks trends and important issues in eight key areas: student access, faculty professionalization, curricular expansion, institutional growth, governance, finance, research, and outcomes. Thoroughly revised and updated, the volume is filled with critical new data; recent information from specialized sources on faculty, student admissions, and management practices; and an entirely new section that explores privatization, corporatization, and accountability from the mid-1990s to the present. This second edition also includes end-of-chapter questions for guidance, reflection, and study.???? "Cohen and Kisker do the nation's colleges and universities a much needed service by authoring this volume. The highly regarded histories of American higher education have become badly dated. They ignore the last quarter century when American higher education was transformed. This volume provides comprehensive information on that era." — Art Levine, president, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, and author, When Hope and Fear Collide: A Portrait of Today's College Student "The second edition of The Shaping of American Higher Education is a treasure trove of information and insight. Cohen and Kisker provide us with astute and straightforward analysis and commentary on our past, present, and likely future. This book is invaluable to those seeking to go to the heart of the issues and challenges confronting higher education." — Judith S. Eaton, president, Council for Higher Education Accreditation "Arthur Cohen and his collaborator have now updated his superb history of American higher education. It remains masterful, authoritative, comprehensive, and incisive, and guarantees that this work will stand as the classic required resource for all who want to understand where higher education came from and where it is going. The new material gives a wise and nuanced perspective on the current crisis-driven transformations of the higher education industry." — John Lombardi, president, Louisiana State University System "The Shaping of American Higher Education is distinguished by its systematic approach, comprehensive coverage, and extensive treatment of the modern era, including the first years of the twenty-first century. In this second edition, Arthur Cohen??and Carrie Kisker are??especially adept at bringing historical perspective and a balanced viewpoint to controversial issues of the current era." — Roger L. Geiger, distinguished professor, The Pennsylvania State University, and author, Knowledge and Money

Anyone studying the history of this institution in America must read Thelin's classic text, which has distinguished itself as the most wide-ranging and engaging account of the origins and evolution of America's institutions of higher learning.

Beginning in the twentieth century, American faculty increasingly viewed themselves as professionals who were more than mere employees. This volume focuses on key developments in the long process by which the American professoriate achieved tenure, academic freedom, and a voice in university governance.Christian K. Anderson describes the formation of the original faculty senates. Zachary Haberler depicts the context of the founding and early activities of the American Association of University Professors. Richard F. Teichgraeber focuses on the ambiguity over promotion and tenure when James Conant became president of Harvard in 1933. In "Firing Larry Gara," Steve Taaffe relates how the chairman of the department of history and political science was abruptly fired at the behest of a powerful trustee. In the final chapter, Tom McCarthy provides an overview of the evolution of student affairs on campuses and indirectly illuminates an important negative feature of that evolutionthe withdrawal of faculty from students' social and moral development.This volume examines twentieth-century efforts by American academics to establish themselves as an independent constituency in America's colleges and universities.

This book tells the compelling saga of American higher education from the founding of Harvard College in 1636 to the outbreak of World War II. The author traces how colleges and universities were shaped by the shifting influences of culture, the emergence of new career opportunities, and the unrelenting advancement of knowledge. He describes how colonial colleges developed a unified yet diverse educational tradition capable of weathering the social upheaval of the Revolution as well as the evangelical fervor of the Second Great Awakening. He shows how the character of college education in different regions diverged significantly in the years leading up to the Civil War - for example, the state universities of the antebellum South were dominated by the sons of planters and their culture - and how higher education was later revolutionized by the land-grant movement, the growth of academic professionalism, and the transformation of campus life by students. By the beginning of the Second World War, the standard American university had taken shape, setting the stage for the postwar education boom. The author moves through each era, exploring the growth of higher education.