Introduction
by Ronald G. EhrenbergI. Presidents, Trustees, and External Governance1. Presidents and Trustees
by James O. Freedman2. Higher Education Boards of Trustees
by Benjamin E. Hermalin3. State Oversight of Academia
by Donald E. HellerII. Internal Governance and Organization4. Darwinian Medicine for the University
by Susanne Lohmann5. Herding Cats in University Hierarchies: Formal Structure and Policy Choice in American Research Universities
by Thomas H. Hammond6. Tiebout Competition versus Political Competition on a University Campus
by John Douglas WilsonIII. Governance in Practice7. How Academic Ships Actually Navigate
by Gabriel E. Kaplan8. Collective Bargaining in American Higher Education
by Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Daniel B. Klaff, Adam T. Kezsbom & Matthew P. NagowskiIV. Challenges from Nonprofits and Nonlegal Legal Influences9. Nonprofit and For-Profit Governance in Higher Education
Brian Pusser & Sarah E. Turner10. The Rise of Nonlegal Legal Influences on Higher Education
by Michael A. OlivasConclusion: Looking to the Future
by Ronald G. EhrenbergAppendix
Notes
References
List of Contributors
Index

Public concern over sharp increases in undergraduate tuition has led many to question why colleges and universities cannot behave more like businesses and cut their costs to hold tuition down. Ronald G. Ehrenberg and his coauthors assert that understanding how academic institutions are governed provides part of the answer.

Factors that influence the governance of academic institutions include how states regulate higher education and govern their public institutions; the size and method of selection of boards of trustees; the roles of trustees, administrators, and faculty in shared governance at campuses; how universities are organized for fiscal and academic purposes; the presence or absence of collective bargaining for faculty, staff, and graduate student assistants; pressures from government regulations, donors, insurance carriers, athletic conferences, and accreditation agencies; and competition from for-profit providers.

Governing Academia, which covers all these aspects of governance, is enlightening and accessible for anyone interested in higher education. The authors are leading academic administrators and scholars from a wide range of fields including economics, education, law, political science, and public policy.

Ronald G. Ehrenberg is Irving M. Ives Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and Economics, Director of the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute, and a former Vice President for Academic Programs, Planning, and Budgeting at Cornell. His books include The American University: National Treasure or Endangered Species? and Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much.