This book examines the evolution of American universities during the years following World War II. Emphasizing the importance of change at the campus level, the book combines a general consideration of national trends with a close study of eight diverse universities in Massachusetts. The eight are Harvard, M.I.T., Tufts, Brandeis, Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern and the University of Massachusetts. Broad analytic chapters examine major developments like expansion, the rise of graduate education and research, the professionalization of the faculty, and the decline of general education. These chapters also review criticisms of academia that arose in the late 1960s and the fate of various reform proposals during the 1970s. Additional chapters focus on the eight campuses to illustrate the forces that drove different kinds of institutions--research universities, college-centered universities, urban private universities and public universities--in responding to the circumstances of the postwar years.

Richard M. FreelandDean of the College and Professor of History, University of Massachusetts, Boston

"A magnificent work of scholarship....No book tells more about the dirty little secrets of universities as they jockey to enhance their prestige and resources. No book tells more about the universities and colleges of a single state. Academia's Golden Age is one of the very best books ever written about the history of American higher education."--Society |k No