The Creation of the Future: The Role of the American University
"The inadequacies of the academic advisory system are just one of the many university shortfalls that Rhodes chronicles. . . He picks a wide range of targets for his critique. . . For instance, he condemns the ever-increasing size of research universities for eroding a sense of community. . . Rhodes calls this a 'catastrophe.'. . . I feel I received a fine education at UConn. But like that of most research universities, where students often play second or third fiddle, it could have been better. . . Rhodes is a saint for pointing this out."—Jason Zalinger. The Washington Monthly, September 2001"When it comes to universities, Frank Rhodes has pretty much seen it all. His vast experience covers the academic basis: professor, dean, academic vice president, long-time president of Cornell University. Rhodes knows the good, but he knows the bad and the different as well. . . . Rhodes provides a road map of the challenges that face universities now and for the foreseeable future. Significant change in the direction that he lays out (assuming such a course is possible) could risk the approval of universities' political and financial patrons. . . But such changes may be hastened by the contributions of more statesmen like Frank Rhodes, who can remind us of the better angels of our natures."—Robert M. Rosenzweig. Science, Vol. 294, October 2001"Rhodes. . . draws on his experiences. . . to review the essential role universities play in modern society and to make recommendations for changes he believes are essential if they are to maintain public understanding and support."—Linda Grace-Kobas, Cornell Chronicle, October 18, 2001"Ithaca is a company town and those who want a learned take on the future of higher education should read the Frank H.T. Rhodes book, The Creation of the Future: The Role of the American University. Its compelling recommendations shine even brighter in the wake of September 11 and a previously changing economy."—Ithaca (NY) Journal, November 2001"The increasingly important role of knowledge in twenty-first-century society could create profound changes on university campuses, according to Frank H.T. Rhodes, president emeritus of Cornell University."—The Futurist, May-June 2002"There is much to learn from this book, which will be a valuable read for all those involved in the enterprise of higher education, from presidents to students. . . . The book is a look into the soul of the modern American University, and as such, will leave the reader challenged and thoughtful."—Virginia Quarterly Review, Vol. 78, No. 3"An engaging blend of history, anecdote, analysis, and recommendations, this book is noteworthy for being at once comprehensive and detailed in its consideration of problems, solutions, and opportunities. The chapter on the cost of higher education is itself worth the cost of the book, and more."—Dean Stanley Fish, University of Illinois at Chicago"One of the most authoritative and inspiring voices among contemporary educational leaders, Frank H.T. Rhodes is like E.O. Wilson whom he invoked in this book, an intellectual with an unwavering sense of calling and a 'storyteller'. In this book he provides us with fascinating —and eminently practical —insider's view of the modern university."—Diana Chapman Walsh, President Wellesley College"This splendid book represents for me the application of 'distilled wisdom' to our understanding of the nature of the modern research university and the issues that confront it. President Rhodes is unfailingly thoughtful and eloquent; those qualities are everywhere evident in this deceptively simple - and always readable - analysis of deep topics such as the meaning of 'community' in higher education today."—William G. Bowen, President, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation"Frank Rhodes tells the story of the modern American university, with an understanding drawn from deep personal experience. His treatment is thoughtfully upbeat, but doesn't flinch at diagnosing flaws and proposing remedies. It's a gem"—Donald Kennedy, President Emeritus, Stanford University