The Great American University: Its Rise to Preeminence, Its Indispensable National Role, Why It Must Be Protected
From Viagra to global positioning systems, America’s research universities have made major contributions to education, health, commerce, and the general well-being of the nation and maintained international preeminence since the 1930s. Cole brings passion and insight based on a 50-year association, from student to professor to provost, with Columbia University, one of the nation’s leading research universities, to an examination of the history and future of these schools. He begins by examining the origins of the research university, the values behind them, and the social and economic structures that have supported them. He moves on to detail the innovations that have come directly out of research universities, including the laser, magnetic resonance imaging, the algorithm behind the Google search engines, and current biological research that may have implications for combating bioterrorism. Finally, Cole examines the forces that threaten the continued preeminence of America’s best research universities, including competition from China and other developing nations and government restrictions on research based on national security or political morality. --Vanessa Bush