Origin of Personnel Service


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The History of American Higher Education


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This book tells the compelling saga of American higher education from the founding of Harvard College in 1636 to the outbreak of World War II. The author traces how colleges and universities were shaped by the shifting influences of culture, the emergence of new career opportunities, and the unrelenting advancement of knowledge. He describes how colonial colleges developed a unified yet diverse educational tradition capable of weathering the social upheaval of the Revolution as well as the evangelical fervor of the Second Great Awakening. He shows how the character of college education in different regions diverged significantly in the years leading up to the Civil War - for example, the state universities of the antebellum South were dominated by the sons of planters and their culture - and how higher education was later revolutionized by the land-grant movement, the growth of academic professionalism, and the transformation of campus life by students. By the beginning of the Second World War, the standard American university had taken shape, setting the stage for the postwar education boom. The author moves through each era, exploring the growth of higher education.




A History of American Higher Education


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The definitive history of American higher education—now up to date. Colleges and universities are among the most cherished—and controversial—institutions in the United States. In this updated edition of A History of American Higher Education, John R. Thelin offers welcome perspective on the triumphs and crises of this highly influential sector in American life. Exploring American higher education from its founding in the seventeenth century to its struggle to innovate and adapt in the first decades of the twenty-first century, Thelin demonstrates that the experience of going to college has been central to American life for generations of students and their families. Drawing from archival research, along with the pioneering scholarship of leading historians, Thelin raises profound questions about what colleges are—and what they should be. Covering issues of social class, race, gender, and ethnicity in each era and chapter, this new edition showcases a fresh concluding chapter that focuses on both the opportunities and problems American higher education has faced since 2010. The essay on sources has been revised to incorporate books and articles published over the past decade. The book also updates the discussion of perennial hot-button issues such as big-time sports programs, online learning, the debt crisis, the adjunct crisis, and the return of the culture wars and addresses current areas of contention, including the changing role of governing boards and the financial challenges posed by the economic downturn. Anyone studying the history of this institution in America must read Thelin's classic text, which has distinguished itself as the most wide-ranging and engaging account of the origins and evolution of America's institutions of higher learning.




American Higher Education, Second Edition


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The roots of controversy surrounding higher education in the US extend deep into the past. This original, incisive history goes far in offering a needed sense of perspective on current debates over such issues as access, costs, academic quality, social equity, and curricula. Eminently readable and always lively, this timely historical account is sure to be an invaluable resource for assessing the present condition and future prospects of American colleges and universities.




Higher Education


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For the Common Good


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Are colleges and universities in a period of unprecedented disruption? Is a bachelor's degree still worth the investment? Are the humanities coming to an end? What, exactly, is higher education good for? In For the Common Good, Charles Dorn challenges the rhetoric of America's so-called crisis in higher education by investigating two centuries of college and university history. From the community college to the elite research university—in states from California to Maine—Dorn engages a fundamental question confronted by higher education institutions ever since the nation's founding: Do colleges and universities contribute to the common good? Tracking changes in the prevailing social ethos between the late eighteenth and early twenty-first centuries, Dorn illustrates the ways in which civic-mindedness, practicality, commercialism, and affluence influenced higher education's dedication to the public good. Each ethos, long a part of American history and tradition, came to predominate over the others during one of the four chronological periods examined in the book, informing the character of institutional debates and telling the definitive story of its time. For the Common Good demonstrates how two hundred years of political, economic, and social change prompted transformation among colleges and universities—including the establishment of entirely new kinds of institutions—and refashioned higher education in the United States over time in essential and often vibrant ways.




The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration


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The Foremost Authorities on Student Affairs Address Issues Facing The Field Today The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration is a comprehensive and thoughtful resource for the field, with expert insight on the issues facing student affairs. This fourth edition has been fully updated to reflect the most current and effective practices in student affairs administration. New chapters address persistence, retention, and completion; teaching and learning; working with athletics and recreation; leadership; purpose and civic engagement; spirituality; and fundraising. Emerging populations are discussed throughout, featuring specific advice for working with veterans and dual-enrolling high school students. New material includes the role of student affairs in study abroad programs, student use of technology and using social media to serve students, working with student athletes, and more. Professionals at all levels of student affairs administration need practical, timely, and applied information on the myriad issues that fall under the student affairs umbrella. This NASPA-sponsored guide collects the latest information, methods, and advice from the field's leading authorities to bring you up to date on the latest solutions and best practices. Learn about the dominant organization and administration models in student affairs Stay up to date on core competencies and professional development models Examine the latest literature, and consider both the newest and lasting issues facing student affairs Instructor resources available As both the student population and the college experience grow more diverse, student affairs professionals need to update their toolset to face the broader scope of the field and the new challenges that arise every day. The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration provides invaluable guidance to graduate students and professionals alike, and is the one resource you should not be without.




Shaping the American Faculty


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Beginning in the twentieth century, American faculty increasingly viewed themselves as professionals who were more than mere employees. This volume focuses on key developments in the long process by which the American professoriate achieved tenure, academic freedom, and a voice in university governance.Christian K. Anderson describes the formation of the original faculty senates. Zachary Haberler depicts the context of the founding and early activities of the American Association of University Professors. Richard F. Teichgraeber focuses on the ambiguity over promotion and tenure when James Conant became president of Harvard in 1933. In "Firing Larry Gara," Steve Taaffe relates how the chairman of the department of history and political science was abruptly fired at the behest of a powerful trustee. In the final chapter, Tom McCarthy provides an overview of the evolution of student affairs on campuses and indirectly illuminates an important negative feature of that evolution the withdrawal of faculty from students' social and moral development.This volume examines twentieth-century efforts by American academics to establish themselves as an independent constituency in America's colleges and universities.




The Rise and Decline of Faculty Governance


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There was a time when the faculty governed universities. Not anymore. The Rise and Decline of Faculty Governance is the first history of shared governance in American higher education. Drawing on archival materials and extensive published sources, Larry G. Gerber shows how the professionalization of college teachers coincided with the rise of the modern university in the late nineteenth century and was the principal justification for granting teachers power in making educational decisions. In the twentieth century, the efforts of these governing faculties were directly responsible for molding American higher education into the finest academic system in the world. In recent decades, however, the growing complexity of “multiversities” and the application of business strategies to manage these institutions threatened the concept of faculty governance. Faculty shifted from being autonomous professionals to being “employees.” The casualization of the academic labor market, Gerber argues, threatens to erode the quality of universities. As more faculty become contingent employees, rather than tenured career professionals enjoying both job security and intellectual autonomy, universities become factories in the knowledge economy. In addition to tracing the evolution of faculty decision making, this historical narrative provides readers with an important perspective on contemporary debates about the best way to manage America’s colleges and universities. Gerber also reflects on whether American colleges and universities will be able to retain their position of global preeminence in an increasingly market-driven environment, given that the system of governance that helped make their success possible has been fundamentally altered.




Student Affairs for Academic Administrators


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Co-published with In these days when every college or university needs to make the best use of resources, Student Affairs for Academic Administrators is intended to help academic administrators make the best use of one vital campus resource: student affairs. By providing this concise introduction to student affairs as a discipline and a profession, the authors of this volume provide a foundation for working together to improve the student experience and enhance learning. Since academic administrators typically come up through the faculty ranks, they are unlikely to have a good grasp of what their student affairs colleagues bring to the common work of education. To provide a better understanding, the chapters in this volume cover topics such as: • The history of student affairs, and functions typically associated with student affairs divisions; • Current thinking and research in student development theory; • Theoretical constructs underlying contemporary student affairs practice (and ways to employ these theories in academic administration); • Diversity issues and their impact on student outcomes in the collegiate environment.After a chapter on how to build successful collaborations between academic affairs and student affairs, two final chapters explore specific examples of how such collaborations work in practice: Academic honor codes, and undergraduate research. While written for academic administrators, the book also provides valuable insights for those in student affairs seeking to improve understanding and facilitate collaboration with colleagues in academic affairs.