They examine the purpose of the university, its evolution and change, its degree of autonomy, evaluations of performance and accountability, its role in guaranteeing human rights, financing, and efficiency and the influence of technology on instruction and structure - all issues that are highly relevant to university leaders and legislators who seek to form and fashion responsive and workable institutions and systems of higher education.The authors suggest measures needed to overcome organizational inertia and recognize the necessity of responsiveness to social and economic changes. Different aspects of worldwide human rights struggles that bear on the university are discussed - for instance the situation in South Africa, where higher education institutions are seeking to redress the misdeeds of the past. The authors also address the issue of public versus private institutional competition and the emergence of the private for-profit institution. Finally, the realities of how and to what extent technology can be relied upon to improve college and university instruction is examined. Contributors include Don Aitkin (University of Canberra, Australia), F. King Alexander (University of Illinois), Kern Alexander (University of North Florida), Michael J. Beloff (Trinity College, Oxford), Ian Clark (Council of Ontario Universities), Stephen R. Greenwald (Audrey Cohen College, New York), James J. Mingle (Cornell University), John H. Moore (Grove City College, Pennsylvania), David W. Olien (University of Wisconsin System, Madison), and David R. Woods (Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa).

King Alexander's profile page

Kern Alexander's profile page

"An interesting and thought provoking collection, well written, and informative." William Westfall, author of The Founding Moment: Church, Society, and the Construction of Trinity College "Excellent pieces, and quite illuminating. The overall impact is to underline the commonality of problems faced by institutions all across the formerly Anglo-Saxon world. This work will provide salutary and perhaps comforting reading to embattled university administrators everywhere." Rick Van Loon, President, Carleton University

"An interesting and thought provoking collection, well written, and informative." William Westfall, author of The Founding Moment: Church, Society, and the Construction of Trinity College
"Excellent pieces, and quite illuminating. The overall impact is to underline the commonality of problems faced by institutions all across the formerly Anglo-Saxon world. This work will provide salutary and perhaps comforting reading to embattled university administrators everywhere." Rick Van Loon, President, Carleton University