American Higher Education

Praise for the First Edition:

"To chart a path for the future, we need an understanding of the past. Thelin provides that understanding in a book that is erudite, thoughtful, provocative, and funny."

William G Tierney, Wilbur Kieffer Professor of Higher Education and Co-director, Pullias Center for Higher Education, University of Southern California, USA

"Drawing on his years of work as a preeminent historian, John Thelin presents a portrait of American higher education that is both an artistic collage and a scholarly historical analysis. Examining the full range of institutional types, this book is a valuable resource to those deeply familiar with universities and colleges, as well as those new to the study of higher education. Professor Thelin weaves together stories, examples, events, places, issues, and themes, to create a fascinating and highly engaging tapestry that illuminates the accomplishments, possibilities, and challenges deeply embedded in American higher education."

Ann E. Austin, Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education and Associate Dean for Research, College of Education, Michigan State University, USA

"American Higher Education offers a lively, sweeping overview of the opportunities and challenges facing colleges and universities, past and present. Drawing on up-to-date examples, John Thelin outlines the dilemmas that key university stakeholders face on matters ranging from instruction to innovation, financial aid to medical facilities, athletics to governance, and student life to sponsored research. With an enduring sense of educational values, including equity and access, Thelin offers readers a view of colleges and universities that will rivet, confound, and occasionally hearten all those interested in this crucial sector of American life."

Catherine Epstein, Dean of the Faculty and Winkley Professor of History, Amherst College, USA

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"[This book] features many new elements, including reworked chapters on enrollment management and the uneven enrollment decline experienced by different kinds of institutions, the campus building boom that’s left many institutions financially vulnerable, and the evolution of intercollegiate athletics in the Name, Image and Likeness era.
Any higher education book by Thelin is cause for celebration, and this updated edition is no exception."

Michael T. Nietzel, "Some Of 2023’s Best Higher Education Books", Forbes