Making College Better: Views from the Top(68 Adolescent Cultures, School & Society)

Today’s colleges and universities are facing mounting criticism from both internal and external interest groups and constituencies. While strident calls for reform accelerate, resources for higher education have weakened. Thus, demands to improve college education abound amidst hard times. This timely book, Making College Better: Views from the Top, offers more rational and practical responses to that public outcry by allowing college presidents and chancellors from a wide variety of postsecondary institutions the opportunity to address, in measured ways, many complex issues and how they might be untangled. Moreover, these academic leaders provide possible remedies to make college better through more strategic policies and practices. Making College Better will appeal to all those interested in the future of higher education, including students, college administrators and other higher education personnel, parents, legislators and other officials, and public and private sector leaders. It is especially useful for courses in the organization and administration of higher education, the college presidency, contemporary issues in higher education, foundations of higher education, higher education and society, and college student development.

Table of Contents:
Joseph L. DeVitis: Introduction – Jonathan M. Brand: Foundational Truths about Higher Education – Steven C. Bahls: Liberal Arts Colleges: Building Capacity to Thrive – Brian Rosenberg: The Future of the Liberal Arts College, or How to Keep Smiling on the Edge of the Crevasse – Timothy L. Hall: Making College Better—For Whom? – Elizabeth (Beth) J. Stroble: Rethinking Fit, Choosing to Include, and Educating World Changers – J. Randall O’Brien: The Soul of a Christian University – Paul C. Pribbenow: From Either/Or to Both/And: The Journey of a Lutheran College to Interfaith Living – Patricia McGuire: A Case Study: Transforming a Catholic Women’s College – Carine M. Feyten: Learning to Thrive: A Perspective from Texas Woman’s—A Large Public University – Beverly Warren: Making College Better Through a Reimagined Undergraduate Research Focus – Sandra J. Jordan: Public Comprehensive Universities: The People’s University at a Crossroads – Elsa M. Núñez: The Role of Public Regional Universities in the 21st Century – James A. Anderson: How Transformational Change Can Prepare HBCUs and MSIs to Be Competitive in the 21st Century – Kevin D. Rome: Energizing Higher Education in Tough Times: A Historically Black College President’s Perspective – Edward E. Raspiller: Making Community Colleges Better – Contributors.

About the Author :
Joseph L. DeVitis is a prolific scholar and public intellectual in social foundations of education and higher education. Two of his books have earned Choice Awards from the American Library Association and four others have won Critics Choice Awards from the American Educational Studies Association as outstanding books of the year.

Review :
"I am reminded every day that the challenges facing higher education and those who serve as its leaders have never been greater. Joseph L. DeVitis has identified an outstanding group of those leaders, who are each working to do more than survive the current environment. I know and admire several of them. Indeed, each contributor's advice on how to move an institution forward today is valuable to all of us striving to do the same."--Dan Mahony, President, Winthrop University "Joseph L. DeVitis has assembled an impressive array of college presidents from both the private and public sectors who don't mince words about the current state and future of American higher education. Each of them has a unique perspective, context, and story; and there is much to be learned from their wisdom, oversights, and forecasts. This book should be read by those seeking to be college presidents and, more widely, by anyone interested in higher education leadership."-- Marybeth Gasman, Professor of Higher Education, University of Pennsylvania; Director, Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions "This is a thought-provoking collection of essays focused on leadership challenges in today's higher education landscape. A wide variety of institutions are represented, ranging from private religious colleges to historically black colleges; and each essay provides innovative responses to specific institutional challenges. A must read for college administrators!"--Dorothy Leland, Chancellor, University of California--Merced