Cultural diversity is an urgent challenge to higher education institutions requiring a communitywide coordinated effort among community sectors. Pluralism is not an end in itself, but a means to the larger purpose of gaining intellectual growth and human insight. Diversity without community is anarchy; community without diversity is fantasy. (MSE)

The vast changes that crumbled the ivory tower of 1940 were unforseen, unplanned, and largely unintended. Educators did not control developments but were carried along on social and demographic currents: the demands of war, returning veterans, economic growth, the baby boom, Vietnam, campus revolt, economic decline, and changing public support.…

The history of liberal education in the United States is a reflection of U.S. History. Among the influences on its existence and development are the needs of the church and of science, the rise of specialization, changing campus life-styles, and the need to correct and build on secondary education. (MSE)

Conflicts erupting on increasingly multicultural campuses indicate we can have diversity without building a multiracial democracy. A multiracial community requires citizens who understand that their views of reality may not match the reality of others and who possess cultural competence. Dismantling affirmative action and equal opportunity…

A discussion of technological advancement in the context of the traditions of higher education considers what may be sacrificed if higher education is too readily seduced by new technology, particularly if it is treated as a replacement for real experience and physical environment. A moderated approach that blends the best of both virtual and real…

Ernest Boyer traced the cause of many of higher education's problems to the fragmented nature of the college experience. Boyer's concept of the New American College had three priorities, all rooted in American higher education traditions: clarifying the curriculum; connecting to the world beyond the classroom; and creating a campus community.…

Two perspectives are presented on some of the questions raised as the doctrine of the college 'in loco parentis' re-emerges as a campus issue, including student, parent, and institutional expectations. (MSE)

The population of immigrants to the United States is both growing and changing, and entering an economy in transition. A recent study focused on their impact on access to higher education and on the institutions themselves, including efficiency of operation and campus diversity. Unresolved issues include need for English language skills, student…