Introduction: The Work of the People's University

Authors

Bruce B. Henderson, Western Carolina UniversityFollow

DOI

10.58809/QSAR2508

Abstract

The state comprehensive universities (SCUs) may represent the most neglected and least understood segment of American higher education. Despite enrolling a substantial portion of the students at four-year institutions of higher learning, the SCUs receive little attention in the popular higher education literature (e.g., the Chronicle of Higher Education), in the more formal academic journals of higher education (e.g., The Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education) or in many of the book-length treatments of the history and issues surrounding higher education (e.g., Geiger, 2005; Levine, 1993; Thelin, 2004). The intent of Teacher-Scholar is to bring much needed attention to the SCUs. What is an SCU? How are SCUs alike and different from public and private research universities and liberal arts colleges? How is the work life for faculty and students different at SCUs? Why have SCUs struggled with their identities? What can SCUs do that can help them play a distinct role in American higher education? What is the distinctive mission of the SCU? These are some of the questions I want to address in this essay. I will provide some background on the SCUs, discuss a model for the mission of the SCUs, and suggest some areas for future research

Recommended Citation

Henderson, Bruce B. (2009) "Introduction: The Work of the People's University," Teacher-Scholar: The Journal of the State Comprehensive University: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 2.
DOI: 10.58809/QSAR2508
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/ts/vol1/iss1/2