The development and contributions of Professor Ruth Eckert are presented in this autobiographical essay. Focus is on higher education as a field of graduate study and changes in higher education throughout this century. The author's experiences are set in the context of wider happenings in higher education. (Author/JMD)

The conversion of liberal arts institutions into comprehensive institutions primarily engaged in vocational and occupational programs is discussed. The liberal arts college is seen as an endangered species that needs to be preserved at all costs. A history of the liberal arts college in America is provided. (MLW)

Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia as the quintessential beginning of the state university is seen as simplistic. Two contributors to the new type university, William R. Davie and Abraham Baldwin are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Case histories of three "first" municipal two-year colleges were used to examine the relative influence of nationally recognized junior college advocates and of local political, social, and economic factors on college founding. Specific relationships were identified between college founding and other educational, political, and social reforms.…

From institutional histories, this article documents misconceptions that the early land-grant colleges were unique in the land-grant heritage, derived from student demand, "revolutionized" post-Civil War agriculture and industry, and enjoyed state favor. Our neglect to understand their dominant national role and incremental educational upgrading…

Faculty development in Mexico may have raised teacher productivity, but it has not enabled universities to make the radical changes necessary to improve society. The active involvement of professors is required in the analysis and solution of problems in their communities prior to their participation in modifications of the university. (Author/MLW)

The academic career of Torsten Husen is described. He sees being a professor as having "the expansion of the frontiers of knowledge as a main preoccupation, which to a large extent means to read, think, and write," as well as to be able to guide young people. (Author/MLW)