Over the past 70 years, the American university has become the global gold standard of excellence in research and graduate education. The unprecedented surge of federal research support of the post-World War II American university paralleled the steady strengthening of the American academic profession itself, which managed to attract the best and…

In the past few decades, especially since the 2008-09 economic downturn, the faculty of American colleges and universities has undergone a far-reaching transformation. Multiple factors, mainly extraneous to the campus itself, are reshaping higher education, and as a result a reprioritizing of the internal allocation of resources is occurring. The…

The impact of upheavals in U.S. higher education on the professoriate was examined, focusing on such factors as declines in enrollment and governmental support, and shifts in enrollment among fields of study. Characteristics of faculty were identified, including their tasks and capabilities, personal background, attitudes and values, emergent…