Shakespeare, Einstein, and the Bottom Line

David L. Kirp is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of many books, including Almost Home: America’s Love–Hate Relationship with Community. Jonathan VanAntwerpen is Program Director for Religion and Theology at the Henry Luce Foundation. He was founding editor of The Immanent Frame, a Social Science Research Council digital forum on religion, secularism, and the public sphere.

• * Introduction: The New U * Part I: The Higher Education Bazaar *1. This Little Student Went to Market *2. Nietzsche's Niche: The University of Chicago *3. Benjamin Rush's "Brat": Dickinson College *4. Star Wars: New York University * Part II: Management 101 *5. The Dead Hand of Precedent: New York Law School *6. Kafka Was an Optimist: The University of Southern California and the University of Michigan *7. Mr. Jefferson's "Private" College: Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia * Part III: Virtual Worlds *8. Rebel Alliance: The Classics Departments of Sixteen Southern Liberal Arts Colleges *9. The Market in Ideas: Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology *10. The British Are Coming--and Going: Open University * Part IV: The Smart Money *11. A Good Deal of Collaboration: The University of California, Berkeley *12. The Information Technology Gold Rush: IT Certification Courses in Silicon Valley *13. They're All Business: DeVry University * Conclusion: The Corporation of Learning * Notes * Acknowledgments * Index

The monastery is colliding with the market. American colleges and universities are in a fiercely competitive race for dollars and prestige. The result may have less to do with academic excellence than with clever branding and salesmanship. David Kirp offers a compelling account of what's happening to higher education, and what it means for the future.