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Academia's golden age : universities in Massachusetts, 1945-1970

Author: Richard M Freeland
Publisher: New York : Oxford University Press, 1992.
Edition/Format:   Book : EnglishView all editions and formats
Summary:
The quarter century following World War II was a "golden age" for American universities. Students enrolled in record numbers, financial support was readily available, and campuses flourished in a climate of public approval. In the mid-1960s, however, the picture began to change.
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Document Type: Book
All Authors / Contributors: Richard M Freeland
ISBN: 0195054644 9780195054644
OCLC Number: 23648896
Description: xii, 532 p. ; 25 cm.
Contents: Pt. 1. Contexts. 1. Academic Development and Social Change: Higher Education in Massachusetts before 1945. Prologue: Three Centuries of College Building, 1636-1929. Historical Dynamics of Academic Change. The Long Pause, 1929-1945: University Development in Depression and War. 2. The World Transformed: A Golden Age for American Universities, 1945-1970. Academic Ideas and Developmental Opportunities in the Postwar Years. The Three Revolutions: Enrollments, Finances, and Faculty. Disarray and Reassessment: A Second Debate on Academic Values --
Pt. 2. Institutions. 3. Emergence of the Modern Research University: Harvard and M.I.T., 1945-1970. From Depression to Prosperity: The Early Postwar Years. Consolidating the New Focus: Research and Graduate Education. The Economics of Academic Progress. Undergraduate Education in the Research University. Organizational Dimensions of Academic Change. The Old Order Changes. 4. Evolution of the College-centered University: Tufts and Brandeis, 1945-1970. The Postwar Years at Tufts. The Founding of Brandeis. Institutional Mobility in the Early Golden Age. The 1960s at Tufts. The 1960s at Brandeis. Organization, Leadership, and Institutional Change. Dilemmas of the College-centered University. 5. Transformation of the Urban University: Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern, 1945-1972. Postwar Boom: Veterans, Growth, and Capital Accumulation. Shifting Emphasis in the 1950s. The "Bonanza Years" at Boston College. The "Blooming" at Northeastern. The 1960s at Boston University. Institutional Mobility and Organizational Form. The Irony of the Urban University. The Good Times End. 6. From State College to University System: The University of Massachusetts, 1945-1973. The Early Postwar Years. UMass in the 1950s. UMass in the 1960s. Academic Organization and Political Systems. From Rapid Growth to Steady State --
Pt. 3. Patterns. 7. The Institutional Complex and Academic Adaptation, 1945-1980. The Institutional Complex in Action: 1945-1970. Adaptations of the 1970s. The Institutional Complex and the Reform Agenda.
Responsibility: Richard M. Freeland.
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Abstract:

The quarter century following World War II was a "golden age" for American universities. Students enrolled in record numbers, financial support was readily available, and campuses flourished in a climate of public approval. In the mid-1960s, however, the picture began to change.

Student unrest and unexpected financial problems stirred apprehension within higher education and questioning by government officials and other outsiders--an atmosphere that was reinforced in the 1970s by softening student demand, rising college costs, and new concerns about institutional effectiveness.

Academia's Golden Age provides the first comprehensive assessment of change among universities in the postwar years, a period that set the framework for contemporary worries about American schools at every level. Combining a general review of national trends with a close study of individual campuses, Freeland provides a fresh perspective on a vital period of educational history and a revealing look at the inner workings of the nation's academic system.

Broad analytic chapters examine major developments like expansion, the rise of graduate education and research, the professionalization of the faculty, and the neglect of undergraduate teaching.

Additional chapters focus on eight campuses in Massachusetts--Harvard, M.I.T., Brandeis, Tufts, Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern and the University of Massachusetts--to illustrate patterns of change at research universities, college-centered universities, urban private universities, and public universities.

Academia's Golden Age can be enjoyed by a wide readership on several levels. For the general reader it provides an illuminating one-volume survey of higher education in the post-World War II period. For scholars and specialists it offers an in-depth analysis of a complex time. For those interested in particular institutions it includes concise portraits unavailable elsewhere.

All audiences will appreciate the book's wealth of information, readable prose, and balanced assessment of academia's performance during years of maximum opportunity.

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