In the 1890s, the Board of Trustees of the not-yet-built University of Chicago had just elected Rainey Harper to be its first president, and later, he would formally accept the position. Harper left a secure position at Yale University to accept the presidency of a university that was nothing more than an idea, a board of trustees, and the…

In this article, the author first read "The Emergence of the American University" by Lawrence R. Veysey, nearly twenty years ago as a graduate student. She has consulted it innumerable times since, and remains impressed by its ambitious scope, careful research and elegant prose. She has always wondered if Veysey's interest in the history…

Laurence R. Veysey's The Emergence of the American University--one of the densely textured, lucidly written, always thoughtful accounts of the history of higher education?has been largely superseded, especially after the 1980s, in part by histories that unlike Veysey's, maintain close attention to religion, both during the period that he focused…

Describes the early years of teacher education at Johns Hopkins University. Maintains that the program had a sophisticated concept of teaching that included elementary and advanced instruction, continuing education activities, training programs for public and university-bound teachers, and a pedagogical emphasis in the various disciplines. (BSR)

Observes that there is as yet no comprehensive history of the Post-World War II "multiversity." Examines the development of Stanford University's Microwave Laboratory. Suggests a framework for the multiversity that includes large, well-funded laboratories, a department with weak central authority, and an emphasis on research over…

Introduces three articles that assess the state of higher education history by turning away from the research university. Explains that the articles (1) focus on books that have influenced the historiography of religion, community colleges, and the poor and (2) discuss how recent research might change conceptions of higher education history. (CMK)

Examines how Laurence Veysey, Stephen Brint, and Jerome Karabel have portrayed the community college and explores the differences between historical and historical-sociological methods. Focuses on recent historical scholarship to develop an historical framework for understanding community colleges. (CMK)

In this essay, the authors examine an important first generation of university vice presidents and the structural, political, and psychological factors that led to their appointments and subsequently shaped their tenures in office. They explore in detail three particular, albeit overlapping, modes of vice presidential service, the variety of…