This collection of 16 essays explore the effects and implications of the changing relationship between external societal influences and academic institutions in the United States. A foreword by Clark Kerr is entitled, "American Society Turns More Assertive: A New Century Approaches for Higher Education in the United States." The essays are: (1) "Campus and Commonwealth: A Historical Interpretation" (John R. Thelin); (2) "Academic Freedom in Delocalized Academic Institutions" (Walter P. Metzger); (3) "Autonomy and Accountability: Some Fundamental Issues" (Robert O. Berdahl and T. R. McConnell); (4) "Academic Freedom at the End of the Century: Professional Labor, Gender, and Professionalism" (Sheila Slaughter); (5) "Economics and Financing of Higher Education: The Tension Between Quality and Equity" (W. Lee Hansen and Jacob O. Stampen); (6) "The Federal Government and Higher Education" (Lawrence E. Gladieux and others); (7) "The States and Higher Education" (Aims C. McGuinness, Jr.); (8) "The Courts" (Walter C. Hobbs); (9) "Other External Constituencies and Their Impact on Higher Education" (Fred F. Harcleroad); (10) "Problems and Possibilities: The American Academic Profession" (Philip G. Altbach); (11) "College Students in Changing Contexts" (Eric L. Dey and Sylvia Hurtado); (12) "Comparative Reflections on Leadership in Higher Education" (Martin Trow); (13) "It's Academic: The Politics of the Curriculum" (Irving J. Spitzberg, Jr.); (14) "Graduate Education: Changing Conduct in Changing Contexts" (Patricia J. Gumport); (15) "Current and Emerging Issues Facing Higher Education in the United States" (Ami Zusman); and (16) "The Insulated Americans: Five Lessons from Abroad" (Burton R. Clark). (MDM)