Designing the New American University

Commendation Quotes: Michael Crow is brilliant, innovative, and a prudent risk-taker. He has transformed Arizona State University in a decade from a quiet school to a formidable research university using a somewhat different model for growth and mission than has been used before in American higher education. I love what he has done and is trying to do: transform a place that will be known for both access and opportunity, as well as for innovation, and that will attack difficult research problems in a way that has been tried by only a handful of American universities. Crow's model for change is revolutionary."Biographical Note: Michael M. Crow has served as the president of Arizona State University since 2002. He was formerly executive vice provost at Columbia University and a professor of science and technology policy. William B. Dabars is a senior research fellow in the Office of the President and a research professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at Arizona State University. Brief Description: "America's research universities consistently dominate global rankings but may be entrenched in a model that no longer accomplishes their purposes. With their multiple roles of discovery, teaching, and public service, these institutions represent the gold standard in American higher education, but their evolution since the nineteenth century has been only incremental. The need for a new and complementary model that offers accessibility to an academic platform underpinned by knowledge production is critical to our well-being and economic competitiveness. Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University and an outspoken advocate for reinventing the public research university, conceived the New American University model when he moved from Columbia University to Arizona State in 2002. Following a comprehensive reconceptualization spanning more than a decade, ASU has emerged as an international academic and research powerhouse that serves as the foundational prototype for the new model. Crow has led the transformation of ASU into an egalitarian institution committed to academic excellence, inclusiveness to a broad demographic, and maximum societal impact. In Designing the New American University, Crow and coauthor William B. Dabars--a historian whose research focus is the American research university--examine the emergence of this set of institutions and the imperative for the new model, the tenets of which may be adapted by colleges and universities, both public and private. Through institutional innovation, say Crow and Dabars, universities are apt to realize unique and differentiated identities, which maximize their potential to generate the ideas, products, and processes that impact quality of life, standard of living, and national economic competitiveness. Designing the New American University will ignite a national discussion about the future evolution of the American research university"--Brief Description: "In this book, Michael Crow will ignite a national discussion on what the new American research university should look like. This new model is one that embraces students with a wide range of backgrounds and abilities while giving elite public schools a run for their research money. Crow proposed his idea--one that would fundamentally redesign the public research university--ten years ago when he became president of Arizona State University and now he has a decade of experience to support his plan. Designing the New American University offers a comprehensive critique of the contemporary American research university and spells out how these critically important institutions can reinvent themselves. The manuscript recommends measures to foster institutional evolution across various interrelated dimensions, represented by the model of the New American University--an egalitarian institution committed to academic excellence, inclusiveness to a broad demographic, and maximum societal impact. The model is evolutionary and dynamic and its "design aspirations" are interrelated and interdependent. The manuscript thus introduces readers to the imperative significance of institutional design, which is not merely adventitious to knowledge enterprises"--Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; America's research universities consistently dominate global rankings but may be entrenched in a model that no longer accomplishes their purposes. With their multiple roles of discovery, teaching, and public service, these institutions represent the gold standard in American higher education, but their evolution since the nineteenth century has been only incremental. The need for a new and complementary model that offers accessibility to an academic platform underpinned by knowledge production is critical to our well-being and economic competitiveness. Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University and an outspoken advocate for reinventing the public research university, conceived the New American University model when he moved from Columbia University to Arizona State in 2002. Following a comprehensive reconceptualization spanning more than a decade, ASU has emerged as an international academic and research powerhouse that serves as the foundational prototype for the new model. Crow has led the transformation of ASU into an egalitarian institution committed to academic excellence, inclusiveness to a broad demographic, and maximum societal impact. In Designing the New American University, Crow and coauthor William B. Dabars--a historian whose research focus is the American research university--examine the emergence of this set of institutions and the imperative for the new model, the tenets of which may be adapted by colleges and universities, both public and private. Through institutional innovation, say Crow and Dabars, universities are apt to realize unique and differentiated identities, which maximize their potential to generate the ideas, products, and processes that impact quality of life, standard of living, and national economic competitiveness. Designing the New American University will ignite a national discussion about the future evolution of the American research university--; Provided by publisher.; In this book, Michael Crow will ignite a national discussion on what the new American research university should look like. This new model is one that embraces students with a wide range of backgrounds and abilities while giving elite public schools a run for their research money. Crow proposed his idea--one that would fundamentally redesign the public research university--ten years ago when he became president of Arizona State University and now he has a decade of experience to support his plan. Designing the New American University offers a comprehensive critique of the contemporary American research university and spells out how these critically important institutions can reinvent themselves. The manuscript recommends measures to foster institutional evolution across various interrelated dimensions, represented by the model of the New American University--an egalitarian institution committed to academic excellence, inclusiveness to a broad demographic, and maximum societal impact. The model is evolutionary and dynamic and its design aspirations are interrelated and interdependent. The manuscript thus introduces readers to the imperative significance of institutional design, which is not merely adventitious to knowledge enterprises--; Provided by publisher. Commendation Quotes: A brilliant, innovative, lucid, and path-breaking book--arguably the most significant book on higher learning since Clark Kerr's "The Uses of the University," published more than a half-century ago. Commendation Quotes: Michael Crow and William Dabars combine analytic social science, policy studies, and a humanistic understanding of how institutions have changed over time, to illuminate how the nation has shaped its institutions of higher learning and how they in turn have shaped, and must continue to shape, the nation. Commendation Quotes: Both this book and the model it demonstrates should be of great interest to all those concerned with the future of American higher education. Commendation Quotes: America has been blessed with the world's best universities, but it won't stay that way without wise change. Michael Crow has been inventing the new university for years; friends of higher education should go to school on his innovations, with this as their textbook."Commendation Quotes: Instead of dwelling on the past glories ofAmerican higher educationalone, this book centers on reinvention and the dynamic nature of American universities. At a time when higher education is in flux--some would say in crisis--the clarity of Crow's vision and proposed solutions make "Designing the New American University"essential reading."Commendation Quotes: Over the past twelve years, Michael Crow has transformed ASU into one of America's proudest research universities. Now, he and his colleague, William Dabars, share this model of success and the efforts of the university to bring it to scale--presenting untapped opportunities to boost our economic and global competitiveness and to further invest in our next generation of leaders. Commendation Quotes: Michael Crow is one of the leading college presidents in America precisely because he understands how we must innovate at the collegiate level if we want to continue to lead in today's global knowledge economy, while at the same time expanding access and affordability to ensure more students have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. This book is an important and insightful read. Commendation Quotes: This book deserves close reading since it sets the context and need for the design of a new type of research university and then presents the project of ASU as a case study that has already achieved goals that far surpass expectations. While not strictly a model it does show us the way to a significantly more optimistic and inclusive future for higher education. Commendation Quotes: This book is a route map, rationale, and guide for the few and the bold who dare to step forward to build the universities we need for the twenty-first century. Commendation Quotes: At a time when knowledge is the key resource for a robust and prosperous society, Crow and Dabars argue persuasively that we must design a New American University rededicated to the public good and recast to meet present and future challenges. They offer a compelling vision of universities with students of diverse backgrounds and faculty energized to serve society and their communities. This book will inspire us to re-think the way we support discovery, creativity, and education - from artistic engagement and humanistic insight to scientific understanding and technological innovation."Publisher Marketing: America's research universities consistently dominate global rankings but may be entrenched in a model that no longer accomplishes their purposes. With their multiple roles of discovery, teaching, and public service, these institutions represent the gold standard in American higher education, but their evolution since the nineteenth century has been only incremental. The need for a new and complementary model that offers accessibility to an academic platform underpinned by knowledge production is critical to our well-being and economic competitiveness. Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University and an outspoken advocate for reinventing the public research university, conceived the New American University model when he moved from Columbia University to Arizona State in 2002. Following a comprehensive reconceptualization spanning more than a decade, ASU has emerged as an international academic and research powerhouse that serves as the foundational prototype for the new model. Crow has led the transformation of ASU into an egalitarian institution committed to academic excellence, inclusiveness to a broad demographic, and maximum societal impact. In "Designing the New American University," Crow and coauthor William B. Dabars--a historian whose research focus is the American research university--examine the emergence of this set of institutions and the imperative for the new model, the tenets of which may be adapted by colleges and universities, both public and private. Through institutional innovation, say Crow and Dabars, universities are apt to realize unique and differentiated identities, which maximize their potential to generate the ideas, products, and processes that impact quality of life, standard of living, and national economic competitiveness. "Designing the New American University "will ignite a national discussion about the future evolution of the American research university. Review Citations:

Library Journal 04/15/2015 pg. 98 (EAN 9781421417233, Hardcover) - *Starred Review