Publications

14 March 2001 |

The Uses of the University, 5th Edition
By Clark Kerr

America’s university president extraordinaire adds a new chapter and preface to this latest edition of his book, touted as one of the most important resources on the modern university ever written.

“Anyone wishing to understand the American research university – past, present and future – must begin with a careful reading of this book,” said Derek Bok, president emeritus at Harvard University.

The “multiversity” that Clark Kerr so presciently discovered now finds itself in an age of apprehension with few certainties. Leaders of institutions of higher learning can be either hedgehogs or foxes in the new age.

Kerr gives advice on what kinds of attitudes universities should adopt, then gives a blueprint for action for foxes. But he also suggests that institutions keep a few of the hedgehogs around to protect university autonomy and the public weal.

Harvard University Press
261 pages