The Best Kind of College: An Insiders’ Guide to America’s Small Liberal Arts Colleges, edited by Susan McWilliams and John E. Seery (State University of New York Press; 303 pages; $80). Writings by 30 award-winning professors on the virtues of teaching, learning, career, and community at small liberal-arts colleges.
Billion-Dollar Ball: A Journey Through the Big-Money Culture of College Football, by Gilbert M. Gaul (Viking; 249 pages; $27.95). Examines the business model of college football, now a $2.5-billion business for elite programs, and details its impact on the values and mission of higher education.
Faculty Mentoring: A Practical Manual for Mentors, Mentees, Administrators, and Faculty Developers, by Susan L. Phillips and Susan T. Dennison (Stylus Publishing; 146 pages; $95 hardcover, $29.95 paperback). Presents guidelines for mentoring both one-on-one and through a group model developed and honed by the authors over a 25-year period.
57 Ways to Screw Up in Grad School: Perverse Professional Lessons for Graduate Students, by Kevin D. Haggerty and Aaron Doyle (University of Chicago Press; 191 pages; $45 hardcover, $15 paperback). Details actions and attitudes likely to result in a dreadful grad-school experience.
The Graduate School Mess: What Caused It and How We Can Fix It, by Leonard Cassuto (Harvard University Press; 309 pages; $29.95). Focuses on the humanities in a critique examining problems at every phase of graduate education, including admissions, coursework, advising, exams, dissertation, and placement; argues for a new ethic of higher education and an agenda of recommitment for professors.
Handbook for Science Public Information Officers, by W. Matthew Shipman (University of Chicago Press; 144 pages; $75 hardcover, $25 paperback). Offers advice to university-based and other PIOs on pitching stories, writing stories, helping researchers plan for interviews, and other aspects of science communication.
In the Face of Inequality: How Black Colleges Adapt, by Melissa E. Wooten (State University of New York Press; 238 pages; $85). Combines historical and sociological perspectives in a study of how inequality influenced the growth and development of black colleges in the mid-to-late 20th century.
Off to College: A Guide for Parents, by Roger H. Martin (University of Chicago Press; 222 pages; $25). Offers parents a window on their children’s academic and social experience in the first year of college; draws on interviews conducted by the author, a former college president, during visits to Queens College of the City University of New York, Tufts University, and Vassar, Washington, and Morningside Colleges.
The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. Into a Job, by Karen Kelsky (Three Rivers Press; 438 pages; $15). Presents advice for graduate students, new Ph.D.s, and adjuncts on finding a tenure-track job, including advice on publishing, interviewing, references, and developing a competitive CV.
Revolution in Higher Education: How a Small Band of Innovators Will Make College Accessible and Affordable, by Richard A. DeMillo (MIT Press; 360 pages; $29.95). Discusses technological and other innovations intended to transform what is termed an unsustainable system of higher education.
Teaching Undergraduate Science: A Guide to Overcoming Obstacles to Student Learning, by Linda C. Hodges (Stylus Publishing; 232 pages; $95 hardcover, $29.95 paperback). Draws on research in cognitive science and education in a discussion of problems of undergraduate engagement and learning in science and engineering courses.
Working Side by Side: Creating Alternative Breaks as Catalysts for Global Learning, Student Leadership, and Social Change, by Shoshanna Sumka, Melody Christine Porter, and Jill Piacitelli (Stylus Publishing; 377 pages; $95 hardcover, $32.50 paperback). Develops a collaborative, social-justice approach to the creation of alternative programs for students on spring or other breaks.