Crisis in the Academy: Rethinking Higher Education in America

Not since student turmoil and unrest wreaked havoc on the nations campuses three decades ago has American higher education been the subject of so much controversy and popular criticism. Countless indictments compete for the publics attention as critics explore vital issues confronting todays institutions of higher learning: curricular fragmentation, declining academic standards, the apparent erosion of liberal learning within academe, widespread neglect of undergraduate education in favour of academic research and unprecedented financial woes. Confusion over fundamental priorities and purposes, the author argues, lies at the heart of the dilemma facing end-of-the-century higher education. Thoughtful and timely, Crisis in the Academy offers a wide-ranging analysis of contemporary higher education while making an important contribution to the ongoing public debate over the future of Americas beleaguered and diverse institutions of higher learning.