Description
Book SynopsisA radical blueprint for reinventing American higher education. America's research universities consistently dominate global rankings but may be entrenched in a model that no longer accomplishes their purposes. With their multiple roles of discovery, teaching, and public service, these institutions represent the gold standard in American higher education, but their evolution since the nineteenth century has been only incremental. The need for a new and complementary model that offers broader accessibility to an academic platform underpinned by knowledge production is critical to our well-being and economic competitiveness. Michael M. Crow, president of Arizona State University and an outspoken advocate for reinventing the public research university, conceived the New American University model when he moved from Columbia University to Arizona State in 2002. Following a comprehensive reconceptualization spanning more than a decade, ASU has emerged as an international academic and rese
Trade ReviewWe must remember that the connection of excellence and access is not just a slogan but a necessity for all of us in higher education. That was the special genius of California's master plan: attempting to forge and maintain connections at every level between teaching and research. The plan requires updating, with more emphasis on serving diverse populations of students, and continued expansion and innovations. Crow and Dabars may not have reinvented the master plan, but they have made an important intervention in the debate about which models work best, for which purposes and constituencies, and how we can support those models at the scale they require, all while maintaining academic rigor and autonomy.
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The Chronicle ReviewCrow and Dabars offer a close analysis of the history and values that spawned our world-renowned research facilities and present a fresh model characterized by a pragmatic research structure and transdisciplinary organization . . . The authors present a dense and extensively investigated explanation of the strengths and limitations of our contemporary higher education environment and the possibilities of a new model.
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Library JournalAn engaging and readable justification for and account of the New American University project . . . Crow is unlikely to disappear from view for quite some time.
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Times Higher EducationCrow and Dabars are right to want new public universities to replace the Harvard standard. Their book is worth reading just for that discussion.
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Los Angeles Review of BooksCrow . . . continues to be at the cutting edge of these and other challenges, opportunities, and initiatives for public research universities in general and his own institution in particular . . . Well written and laden with notes and bibliography, this is a solid complement to William G. Bowen and Eugene M. Tobin's
Locus of Authority (2015) and Robert Lacroix and Louis Maheu's
Leading Research Universities in a Competitive World (2015).
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ChoiceIt is impeccably referenced and thoughtfully paced with detailed chapters building the model they support. Within the book is a trove of information on the trajectory for and challenges facing higher education. Whether one chooses to follow the prescription they suggest, or simply wants to better understand higher education, this book provides a most compelling read.
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PsycCRITIQUESDabars’ rich historical contextualization and Crow’s policy and managerial experience provide design principles encouraging institutions to leverage their own place in a locally appropriate way.
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NatureThe New American University is the latest bold and meticulously argued model to reclaim what is distinctively American in higher education.
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Journal of College and University LawTable of ContentsPreface, by Michael M. Crow
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. American Research Universities at a Fork in the Road
2. The Gold Standard in American Higher Education
3. The Varieties of Academic Tradition
4. Discovery, Creativity, and Innovation
5. Designing Knowledge Enterprises
6. A Pragmatic Approach to Innovation and Sustainability
7. Designing a New American University at the Frontier
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
