Missions Impossible: Prospects and Planning in American Higher Education

John R. Thelin

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Most colleges and universities in the United States face serious questions about missions, money, and morale in the 21st century. Some recent excellent books are useful for showing divergent perspectives on these problems. To one extreme, an historian tends to see that lack of planning has been an unexpected, enduring positive force. To another extreme, a high profile state university president draws on innovations in structure to deal with changes in demographics and academic fields. This review essay provides a balanced exploration of the disparate approaches, leading to the conclusion that American higher education is in need of a substantive "New Deal" in purposes and policies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)556-559
Number of pages4
JournalSociety
Volume55
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

  • Colleges and universities
  • Funding
  • Governance
  • Higher education
  • Institutional mission
  • Planning

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science
  • General Social Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Missions Impossible: Prospects and Planning in American Higher Education'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this