The American College And University

First published in 1962, Frederick Rudolph's groundbreaking study, The American College and University, remains one of the most useful and significant works on the history of higher education in America. Bridging the chasm between educational and social history, this book was one of the first to examine developments in higher education in the context of the social, economic, and political forces that were shaping the nation at large. Surveying higher education from the colonial era through the mid-twentieth century, Rudolph explores a multitude of issues from the financing of institutions and the development of curriculum to the education of women and blacks, the rise of college athletics, and the complexities of student life. In his foreword to this new edition, John Thelin assesses the impact that Rudolph's work has had on higher education studies. The new edition also includes a bibliographic essay by Thelin covering significant works in the field that have appeared since the publication of the first edition. At a time when our educational system as a whole is under intense scrutiny, Rudolph's seminal work offers an important historical perspective on the development of higher education in the United States.

First published in 1962, this book remains one of the most significant works on the history of higher education in America. Bridging the chasm between educational and social history, it was one of the first to examine developments in higher education in the context of the social, economic, and political forces that were shaping the nation at large. Surveying higher education from the colonial era through the mid-20th century, Rudolph explores a multitude of issues from the financing of institutions and the development of curriculum to the education of women and blacks, the rise of college athletics, and the complexities of student life. In his foreword to this edition, John R. Thelin assesses the impact Rudolph’s work has had on higher education studies. The edition also includes a bibliographic essay by Thelin covering significant works in the field that have appeared since the publication of the first edition. “[A]n excellent book... a scholarly book, but one easy to read and always interesting.” — Francis Horn, The New York Times Book Review “A tour de force... The general reader as well as the historian of education will find in it the interesting story of America’s academic life, told with truth and originality” — Saturday Review “[An] important and widely celebrated book... it collects an enormous number of disparate sources... and weaves them into a history of American colleges and universities that is useful, even today, to both the scholar and the general reader... an exceptionally comprehensive book... it traces some three hundred years of the history of American colleges and universities from the 1636 founding of Harvard well into the twentieth century.” — David S. Webster, The Review of Higher Education “[Rudolph] has skillfully organized the results of his comprehensive research; he has a flair for catching the attention with a colorful incident or a memorable quotation; and he writes with a sprightly yet authoritative style. The result is an exceptionally readable account that the scholar will find a profitable addition to his library. The book should appeal, too, to the general reader with a non-professional interest in American higher education, and in how it developed, and why.” — David Madsen, History of Education Quarterly “The American College and University... covers an amazing amount of ground in less than 500 pages of text... a significant contribution.” — Russell E. Miller, American Association of University Professors Bulletin “[A] first-rate contribution to the all-too-meager written history of American education and an example of institutional history at its best.” — Theodore R. Sizer, The New England Quarterly “Frederick Rudolph has chosen to create a vast design stretched across the canvas of several centuries and a broad continent, woven against the military, political, and economic tapestry of a new people creating a new way of life... He has more than succeeded. Covering both minute detail and sweeping developments, Mr. Rudolph makes a significant contribution to historical research by relating the growth of higher education to the totality of the American scene. At the same time he has produced a readable literary effort — set apart from books for popular consumption not by its style, which is well paced and clear, but by its depth of documentation... Rudolph writes with the skill of the novelist in keeping his narrative alive.” — Kenneth R. Williams, The Florida Historical Quarterly “This is a superb account of American higher education from colonial times to the present... The major developments are here, all in perspective, and treated in such a way as to please readers who value clarity, insight, proportion, quiet humor, and literary grace.” — Irwin G. Wyllie, The Business History Review “The American College and University is felicitous writing, eminently readable and frequently entertaining... Rudolph's work makes a significant contribution to educational history and will repay conscientious study.” — Saul Sack, The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography “[Rudolph's book] bears the marks of sound scholarship, and it is written with clarity and urbanity. It will be read with interest by academics and laymen and will probably remain the best one-volume history of its subject for many years.” — Frederick H. Jackson, The Mississippi Valley Historical Review “[T]his is a very capable history of the American college and university and is delightfully written... Both layman and historian can read this book with great profit and great enjoyment.” — Philip Davidson, The Journal of Southern History “[V]ery readable and at times absorbing... [an] illuminating history of the American college.” — Leonard F. Bacigalupo, The Catholic Historical Review “A carefully documented, well-indexed, and, to cap it, entertaining work leaving little doubt that the history of American higher education must be the most delightful story since the beginning of universities in medieval Europe.” — American Behavioral Scientist

Is higher education a right or a privilege? Who should go to college? What should they study there? These questions were hotly debated between the world wars, when an unprecedented boom in college enrollments forced Americans to struggle between their belief in the importance of educational opportunity and their desire to preserve the existing social structure. In The American College and the Culture of Aspiration, 1915–1940, David O. Levine offers the first in-depth history of higher education during this era, a period when colleges and universities became arbiters of social and economic mobility and a hierarchy of schools evolved to meet growing demands for occupational training and socialization.

Singer, Allison Starer, Wim Wiewel, Eugene L. Zdziarski II

The author of "Where the Buffalo Roam" provides an unprecedented portrait of today's college experience as the world of academe goes about reinventing itself, seeking to reconcile new economic realities with our vision of the campus as the gateway to knowledge.

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.