The California Idea and American Higher Education: 1850 to the 1960 Master Plan [Paperback]

John Douglass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2007

Throughout the twentieth century, public universities were established across the United States at a dizzying pace, transforming the scope and purpose of American higher education. Leading the way was California, with its internationally renowned network of public colleges and universities. This book is the first comprehensive history of California's pioneering efforts to create an expansive and high-quality system of public higher education.

The author traces the social, political, and economic forces that established and funded an innovative, uniquely tiered, and geographically dispersed network of public campuses in California. This influential model for higher education, "The California Idea," created an organizational structure that combined the promise of broad access to public higher education with a desire to develop institutions of high academic quality. Following the story from early statehood through to the politics and economic forces that eventually resulted in the 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education, The California Idea and American Higher Education offers a carefully crafted history of public higher education.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book offers persuasive and in many ways unprecedented history of the policy debates that gave California one of the most comprehensive and influential public university systems in the world. . . . Douglass's important work offers a basis for considering both the remarkable strengths of Progressive university building and the antidemocratic elements that, contrary to conventional wisdom, may be the source of its increasing weakness today."—American Literature

"Douglass has made a long-needed contribution. Those who study and work in higher education will profit from readitng this carefully constructed history."—Journal of the West

"California exceptionalism is a very real thing, but its essence has always been elusive. Not so in the case of John Douglass' treatment of California higher education. He has captured brilliantly the economic, political, and social roots of that remarkable system. His work will help us all."—Neil Smelser, Director, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, California

"For those interested in the University of California, in higher education throughout the state, and—above all—for anyone concerned about life in this country's higher education systems, John Douglass' book is a must read. He brings history, thoughtful perspective, and marvelous creative intelligence to a very tricky set of issues, and we will be leaning upon his insights for many years."—Barry Munitz, President, The J. Paul Getty Trust, and former Chancellor of the California State University system

"John Douglass has succeeded in one of the most difficult of scholarly challenges—presenting a large and complex topic with remarkable clarity, insight, and narrative skill. <The California Idea and American Higher Education> is fascinating history and a significant contribution to our understanding of the people and the forces that created California's renowned system of higher education."—Richard C. Atkinson, President of the University of California

From the Inside Flap

Throughout the twentieth century, public universities were established across the United States at a dizzying pace, transforming the scope and purpose of American higher education. Leading the way was California, with its internationally renowned network of public colleges and universities. This book is the first comprehensive history of California’s pioneering efforts to create an expansive and high-quality system of public higher education.
The author traces the social, political, and economic forces that established and funded an innovative, uniquely tiered, and geographically dispersed network of public campuses in California. This influential model for higher education, “The California Idea,” created an organizational structure that combined the promise of broad access to public higher education with a desire to develop institutions of high academic quality. Following the story from early statehood through to the politics and economic forces that eventually resulted in the 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education, The California Idea and American Higher Education offers a carefully crafted history of public higher education.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press; New edition edition (January 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804757534
• ISBN-13: 978-0804757539
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,593,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Aubrey Douglass is Senior Research Fellow - Public Policy and Higher Education at the Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of California - Berkeley. He is the co-editor of Globalization's Muse: Universities and Higher Education Systems in a Changing World (Public Policy Press 2009), and author of The Conditions for Admissions (Stanford Press 2007) and The California Idea and American Higher Education (Stanford University Press, 2000; published in Chinese in 2008).

He is also the editor of the CSHE Research and Occasional Paper Series (ROPS) and sits on the editorial board of a number of international higher education journals. Other recent scholarly publications include articles in Higher Education Policy and Management (OECD), Higher Education Policy, Inside Higher Education, Perspectives (UK), Change Magazine, California Monthly, Minerva, The Journal of Policy History, California Politics and Policy, History of Education Quarterly, The American Behavioral Scientists, and the European Journal of Education.

Current research interests are focused on comparative international higher education, including the influence of globalization, the role of universities in economic development, science policy as a component of national and multinational economic policy, strategic issues related to developing mass higher education, and assessing student experience in major research universities.

Dr. Douglass has also served as a consultant on issues related to institutional strategic planning, and access and academic program quality assurance. Before coming to CSHE he served as the chief policy analyst for the University of California's Systemwide Academic Senate and held teaching and research positions at the University of California - Santa Barbara campus. He has been a Visiting Professor at Sciences Po (Paris) and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Oxford Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (OxCHEPS).

For more information on his research and professional activities see: http://cshe.berkeley.edu/people/jdouglass.htm

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUCH NEDED LOOK AT HOW CALIFORNIA DID IT, January 6, 2001

By 

SUSAN TRAUTMAN (TUSTIN, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The California Idea and American Higher Education: 1850 to the 1960 Master Plan (Hardcover)

The California Idea fills a big need in the scholarship on higher education: a broad and comparative analysis on how an important state has approached the issues of broadening higher education access. This book is well written, good for both scholars, policymakers, and those generally interested in a public higher education system that has benefited so many Californians.

5.0 out of 5 stars a must have, September 5, 2007

By 

Rene Tiongquico "renebt" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The California Idea and American Higher Education: 1850 to the 1960 Master Plan (Paperback)

For those interested in the state's history of public education, this book will explain the politics, and give you what you need to know without rummaging through a myriad of state publications. Douglass does an excellent job at both informing and entertaining the reader. By far, one of my favorite books.