The Great American University: Its Rise to Preeminence, Its Indispensable National Role, Why It Must Be Protected

by Jonathan R. Cole

Although America’s universities have become the envy of the world for their creative energy and their production of transformative knowledge, few understand how and why they have become preeminent. This groundbreaking book traces the origins and the evolution of our great universities. It shows how they grew out of sleepy colleges at the turn of the twentieth century into powerful institutions that continue to generate new industries and advance our standard of living. Far from inevitable, this transformation was enabled by a highly competitive system that invested public tax dollars in university research and students while granting universities substantial autonomy. Today, America’s universities face considerable threats. Even greater than foreign competition are the threats from within the United States. Under the Bush administration, government increasingly imposed ideological constraints on the freedom of academic inquiry. Restrictive visa policies instituted after 9/11 continue to discourage talented foreign graduate students from training in the United States. The international financial crisis, which has depleted university endowments and state investments in higher education, threatens the vitality of some of our greatest institutions of higher learning. In order to sustain and enhance the American tradition of excellence, we must nurture this powerful—yet underappreciated—national resource.

Genres: Education, History, Nonfiction, Economics, Research

640 pages, Hardcover

First published January 8, 2010

Reviews

[Graeme · Rating 5 out of 5]

The great American research universities are treasures to be improved, preserved, and replicated in other places. Formerly Provost at Columbia University, Jonathan Cole understands and loves them better than anyone. The Great American University is deeply insightful, wide ranging, beautifully written, fair, and courageous. It is one of the few essential references in higher learning.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three books in one. The "Rise to Preeminence" is a often-done history of American research universities, but it does include a few details that aren't covered as heavily elsewhere. "Indispensable National Role" is a list of the many university discoveries that go under-appreciated by the general public and legislators. Of course, universities contributed to many scientific and technological changes in the 20th century. Finally, "why it must be protected" is the most interesting part. Cole is firmly critical of American higher ed and also an irrational fan-boy. I think he is spot-on to chide universities for group-think, failure to vigorously defend academic freedom, and for a lack of enthusiasm regarding societal problems. However, the almost mandatory call for large funding increases seems both hopelessly utopian to those outside of university and also completely unhelpful to those inside the academy. Telling higher education that they deserve more money lets them off the hook on improvements until that big pot of money appears. Higher ed institutions need to make changes now - they don't need an excuse to wait for money that is highly unlikely to ever materialize.

[MarkGrabe Grabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now dated

Book ends its analysis as Obama was coming into office. Some of the issues of the research university are likely still similar, but present political attacks on expertise and academic institutions are so severe and political those seeking other than historical insights need to consider more recent efforts on the state of higher education

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if research weren't a distraction from our universities, but really at the heart of their excellence? That's where Cole begins this remarkable book. He points out the obvious -- if you think about the great American universities, the ones that are the envy of the world, they are really our research powerhouses. And those research powerhouses are valued as great places to get an undergraduate education. Cole spends some time arguing that this may not be a horrible case of confusion by hundreds of thousands of well-meaning families spending their entire savings. Instead, he argues, there may be natural complementarities between excellence in research and excellence in teaching, particularly in the collaborative way that research is done in the U.S.

So, as The Economist's wonderful review points out, Cole has written three nice books, and stuck them together. The first book is an excellent history of the growth of elite American universities -- elite in the sense of their commitment to excellence, not necessarily their enrollment policies. (Cole insists that Michigan, Wisconsin, Berkeley and Chicago must be included in any honest list of the best schools in the country.) Throughout, he does some very useful thinking about how an institution builds and maintains excellence. He suggests a certain ruthlessness is essential -- a commitment to saying that folks not doing great research AND teaching need to move on.

The second part I skimmed -- it's a brief history of way University research has led to lots of things we value and use and make our lives better. I felt like I knew this already, but others may not.

The third part looks at the challenges facing the university. He places the limitation of academic freedom -- really the limitation of intellectual free-ranging -- at the heart of the challenge. He sees challenges from the left (lest students be "offended"), the right (Patriot Act) and the middle (intellectual slovenliness). I was surprised how engaging and provocative I found this.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

being kinds of geek for both issues of higher education and history, this book hit me in a sweet spot.
Broken up into three discreet sections 1) rise of colleges and universities 2) the amazing productivity in research by universities over the 20th century and 3) the threats that exist under the heavy hand of a less than friendly federal government, (or state government if you are a public institution in California).
At 500 pages it was intense, and long, but ulimately a satisfying read.

[Blaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a very good book tracing the development of higher education in the United States. I is a little dry, but it makes for an interesting read. There were a few places where it seemed slightly self-serving but as a whole I would recommend picking it up, if you're interested in the subject.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is all about "knowledge creation" and not at all about education, particularly undergraduate. For a believer in liberal arts, forget it.

[Delana Gregg]

lots of interesting information, especially about innovation and connection to government funding/goals. Helpful.

[Mills College Library]

378.73 C6895 2009