The Autocratic Academy: Reenvisioning Rule within America's Universities

The Autocratic Academy argues that American colleges and universities have always been organized as corporations, antithetical to the free inquiry of higher education. Appeals to shared governance cannot succeed in wresting power from the academys autocrats, so American universities must be reincorporated in accordance with democratic republicanism.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 07 April 2023
Publisher: Duke University Press

Critics of contemporary American higher education frequently cite the "corporatization" of the academy as one of its most significant shortcomings. However, in his book "The Autocratic Academy," Timothy V. Kaufman-Osborn contends that American colleges and universities have always operated as corporations, with antidemocratic governing boards legally vested in and monopolizing power. Kaufman-Osborn argues that this institutional structure is contrary to the free inquiry that serves as the primary purpose of higher education.

Tracing the history of the American academy from its founding in 1636 through the Supreme Court's Dartmouth v. Woodward ruling in 1819 and into the twenty-first century, Kaufman-Osborn demonstrates how the university's autocratic legal constitution has become intertwined with its representation on the model of private property. He explains why appeals to the cause of shared governance cannot effectively challenge the authority of the academy's autocrats and argues that American universities must be reincorporated in accordance with the principles of democratic republicanism. Only then can the academy's members hold those elected to govern accountable and collectively determine the allocation of higher education's unique public goods.

This book offers a critical analysis of the corporatization of American higher education and proposes a democratic republicanism-based solution to address its shortcomings. It is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the challenges facing higher education in the United States and the potential for reform.

Weight: 445g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478019824