Emerging Patterns of Social Demand and University Reform: Through a Glass Darkly(7 Issues in Higher Education)

In times of rapid international political and economic change the great universities of Europe and North America are being transformed. Public expectations about access to higher education, government concerns about the role that universities can play in innovation and economic development, and the application of the principals of market economics to the university systems of all countries have created a new context for higher education. Universities whose governance and organization have been among the most stable and predictable in modern society are experiencing unprecedented pressure for change. Social demands in Europe are leading for the first time in history to a corporate form of university, similar in structure to American institutions. American universities are confronted with new levels of national and international competition as well as new government policies. The papers of this volume are the outcome of the remarkable process of discussions which took place during the 1995 international symposium on the future role of the university held in Vienna, Austria. The papers have been thoughtfully revised to reflect the insights and contributions of the participants at the symposium and the editors have provided a synthesizing introduction and conclusion. The respective chapters are rich in scholarly insight regarding the complex intersection between public policy and university organization.

Table of Contents:
Foreword (Chancellor Paul Hardin, Rector Fritz Scheuch). Acknowledgments. List of Contributors. The implications of a post-industrial environment for the university: an introduction (D.D. Dill, B. Sporn). An historical perspective on the university's role in social development (S. Rothblatt). The New Social Demands and Underlying Assumptions. The stirring of the prince and the silence of the lambs: the changing assumptions beneath higher education policy, reform, and society (G. Neave). Mass higher education and social mobility: a tenuous link (H. Nowotny). The university as an instrument for the development of science and basic research: the implications of mode 2 science (M. Gibbons). The university as an instrument for economic and business development: United States and European comparisons (H. Goldstein et al.). Implications for University Organization. Images of university structure, governance, and leadership: adaptive strategies for the new environment (M. Peterson). Complexity and differentiation: the deepening problem of university integration (B. Clark). The "marketization" of higher education: reforms and potential reforms in higher education finance (G. Williams). The new context for academic quality (F. van Vught). University 2001: what will the university of the 21st century look like? (B. Sporn, D.D. Dill).

Review :
Professor Sir David Williams, Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge This invaluable volume addresses both the pressures for change...and also the responses of university governing bodies and heads in terms of institutional adaptation. A common theme throughout has been the vital importance of maintaining the values and ethos of universities through the whirlwind of change... The book will be essential reading for all those who, in different ways are concerned for the future of universities, and who are able to participate in the debate.