A number of recently published books will be of interest to presidents and other leaders of small and mid-sized private colleges and universities. The books tackle a range of issues, including the influence of wealth and legacy on elite higher education enrollment, college access for low-income students, the history of women’s higher education in postwar America, and the restructuring of American college and university faculties.

College Access: Opportunity or Privilege?
Edited by Michael S. McPherson and Morton Owen Schapiro,
© 2006

Backed by quantitative data and expert analyses, this comprehensive book includes essays and studies by various higher education and economic policy officials on the underlying problems of college access for low-income Americans. Statistics on college enrollment show that low-income students are less likely to graduate from high school and advance to college, and those low-income students who do attend a postsecondary institution are more likely to enroll in a public community college rather than an elite institution. The authors propose various models that colleges can use to educate low-income students and argue that—in order to remain globally competitive—it is essential to provide these low-income students full educational access. This publication is edited by Michael McPherson, president of The Spencer Foundation, and Morton Schapiro, president of Williams College (MA), and builds on important previous research by such authors as William G. Bowen and Derek Bok.

Paperback copies of this book, published by the College Board, cost $18.95 and are available in bookstores.

The Price of Admission: How America’s Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges
Daniel Golden, © 2006

Daniel Golden’s claim is that every spring thousands of middle-class and lower-income high-school seniors are passed over by America’s most exclusive colleges in favor of wealthy students with lesser credentials—children of alumni, big donors, or celebrities. In this exposé, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street Journal reporter argues that Ivy League admissions offices are contributing to an American aristocracy, allowing special access to elite higher education for America’s richest families. Golden outlines the admissions practices that he believes favor the wealthy, the powerful, and the famous, and he suggests reasonable, workable tactics for resurrecting the anti-legacy campaign proposed by Congress. He devotes a laudatory chapter to the equitable, merit-based admissions practices at institutions such as Berea College (KY), Cooper Union (NY), and California Institute of Technology.

Golden will discuss the book during a special lunch session at CIC’s Presidents Institute in January.

Hardcover copies of this book, published by Crown Publishing, cost $25.95 and are available in bookstores.

Berea College: An Illustrated History
Shannon H. Wilson, © 2006

The Berea College (KY) motto is “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,” a phrase underlying the institution’s 150-year commitment to egalitarian education. The first interracial and coeducational undergraduate institution in the South, Berea College is well known for its mission to provide students the opportunity to work in exchange for a tuition-free quality education. This book includes more than 180 historic photographs and unfolds the developing saga of a distinguished institution of higher education, centering the narrative on the eight presidents of Berea. Each chapter examines two or three salient events in each administration that confirm, enhance, or deny the core values of the college. The experiences of students, faculty members, and the college staff are also used to examine the impact and understanding of Berea’s history.

Hardcover copies of this book cost $35 and may be ordered from The University of Kentucky Press at (800) 839-6855 or www.kentuckypress.com.

Higher Education for Women in Postwar America, 1945-1965
Linda Eisenmann, © 2006

The lives of Americans were filled with uncertainties after World War II and there was little concern about the best approaches to women’s postwar collegiate education. American women received a variety of messages about their roles in postwar society, many revolving around families and communities as the means to reestablish normalcy after the disruptions of war. This history explores the nature of postwar advocacy for women’s higher education, acknowledging the relationship of that advocacy to the expectations of the era. By illuminating the impact of postwar advocacy and women’s educational choices at the time, Eisenmann reveals the origins of later developments on college campuses during the 1960s, including the creation of women’s research institutes, women’s studies programs, and women’s resource centers.

Hardcover copies of this book cost $45 and may be ordered from Johns Hopkins University Press at (800) 537-5487 or www.press.jhu.edu.

The American Faculty: The Restructuring of Academic Work and Careers
Jack H. Schuster and Martin J. Finkelstein, © 2006

Combining empirical data drawn from three decades of higher education surveys, the authors explore the transformation of the American faculty caused by a rapidly changing society. According to Schuster and Finkelstein’s research, society today is more globalized, market-driven, technology-enabled, and knowledge-based than ever before—and the higher education system, in response to these widespread national changes, has restructured itself too. Hiring, work, and careers in academia have undergone dramatic changes, sometimes with startling and disturbing effects on academic culture and values, and the quality of work life. The confluence of these forces, the authors claim, is propelling higher education into a future riddled with more uncertainties than in any previous era. In this ambitious analysis of the American academic profession, Schuster and Finkelstein outline the stakes for the nation and the challenging work to be done.

Hardcover copies of this book cost $45 and may be ordered from Johns Hopkins University Press at (800) 537-5487 or www.press.jhu.edu.

Wofford: Shining with Untarnished Honor, 1854-2004
Edited by Doyle Boggs, JoAnn Mitchell Brasington, and Phillip Stone
© 2005

This Wofford College (SC) sesquicentennial anthology—filled with pictures, essays, vignettes, historical documents, and a compelling narrative—is a testament to the shared values and visions of a college and its community. Since 1854, Wofford has been an important part of the identity of Spartanburg, South Carolina. It is one of only a handful of American colleges founded before the Civil War that continue operation on their original campuses. Between 1902 and 1942, Wofford worked to define and shape “the Mind of the South,” and earned its chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. World War II, the Cold War, and the Baby Boom generation profoundly shaped the Wofford community. In the late 1980s, the college adopted a new Master Plan that laid the foundations for change and progress into the current generation.

Hardcover copies of this book cost $29.95 and may be ordered from Hub City Writers Project at (864) 577-9349 or www.hubcity.org.

Lyon College 1872-2002: The Perseverance and Promise
of an Arkansas College
Brooks Blevins, © 2003

Lyon College’s (AR) history is the story of the American small college in microcosm, demonstrating the necessity and power of educational persistence. In 1872, Isaac Long founded Lyon College (then Arkansas College) in Batesville, Arkansas on a curriculum of classical studies. Over the next 130 years, during multiple periods of intense educational development across the United States, Lyon College changed its name, its location within Batesville, and its mission from instruction in the classics to career development to liberal arts education. These changes were fueled by a consistent set of dynamics: the ongoing challenges of slim enrollments and institutional poverty—the very fight for survival—bred a culture of experimentation. This book captures this remarkable path to building a respected and successful liberal arts college, illustrated with photographs from every period of Lyon College’s history, and containing useful appendices such as a timeline of key events and listings of all the presidents, deans, board chairs, and award winners.

Hardcover copies of this book, published by University of Arkansas Press, cost $34.95 and are available in bookstores.