This article introduces the notion of the "educational franchise" of Australia's public universities established in the mid-nineteenth century. In his recently published study of the public university and social access in the United States, John Aubrey Douglass suggests that from the mid-nineteenth century a social contract was formed…

The publication in 1906 of Alexander Smith's "Introduction to general inorganic chemistry" inaugurated a decisive change in chemical pedagogy in the US, the effects of which are still evident. The nature and extent of Smith's innovations are described through a comparison of his text to its source material and contemporaries. His…

This paper draws on life history interviews with young adults in the UK to consider Manuela du Bois-Reymond's claims about the increasing prevalence of "trendsetter learners" across Europe. Du Bois-Reymond has argued that certain groups of young adults are at the forefront of developing new forms of learning in response to what they…

Released in June, 2010, this publication features excerpts from presentations by Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) trustees, chancellors and presidents as well as other education experts who candidly discuss issues surrounding accreditation at a unique meeting sponsored by the Southern Education Foundation. The Southern…

This article is based on an ESRC/DFID funded research project on Widening Participation in Higher Education in Ghana and Tanzania: Developing an Equity Scorecard (http://www.sussex.ac.uk/education/wideningparticipation). There are questions about whether widening participation in higher education is a force for democratisation or differentiation.…

The widening participation agenda was instigated by a government seeking to develop skilled workers in the global economy, yet it has consistently refused to fund the burgeoning student population adequately. Managers and academics within the HE sector have to reconcile requirements for the implementation of policies with an increasing "audit"…

This appreciative portrait of John William Miller, a professor of philosophy at Williams College, 1924-1960, was written by one of his former students. An essay by Miller is appended. (SJL)

This is a brief report on the use of biographies of five famous psychologists to stimulate student interest in psychological issues. For example, the history of Francis Galton's life is used to demonstrate the effects of 19th century attitudes, concepts, and values on the scientist's world view and his achievements. (AM)

According to recent data, only 3 percent of all college and university presidents are women of color. While the numbers remain disturbingly low, some of these women of color are making history as the "first" of their gender, race, and ethnicity to become president of a public, baccalaureate degree-granting college or university. In this…

Scholars and educators concerned with the work of Michel Foucault should approach James Miller's biography "The Passion of Michel Foucault" with a fair degree of skepticism because the author's motives for writing the book call into question his findings. According to Miller's own preface, he enters his project with his agenda already…

This paper discusses the life and work of Lawrence A. Cremin, a leading historian of U.S. education and the president of Teachers College, Columbia University from 1974-84. Among his most important books are "The Transformation of the School" (1961), and his trilogy: "American Education: The Colonial Experience 1607-1783"…

Describes a two-part approach to teaching the student research paper that encourages students to make a science of developing research gathering techniques and an art of blending the gathered materials with a perspective that will make the paper more than just a summary of facts. The approach uses biography as a model for research. (HTH)

A memoir of Jacob Viner, author and Princeton economics professor, by one of his students. (SJL)

A personal appreciation of I. A. Richards as a teacher of poetry at Harvard in the 1950s, written by one of his students. (SJL)

An appreciation of the work and teaching of anthropologist Ruth Benedict. The author was one of her students at Columbia University in the 1940s. (SJL)