Austerity Blues: Fighting for the Soul of Public Higher Education, by Michael Fabricant and Stephen Brier (Johns Hopkins University Press; 310 pages; $29.95). Focuses on New York and California in a study of the expansion of public higher education in the postwar era and the rise of austerity linked to neoliberal policies over the past three decades.
Being a Scholar in the Digital Era: Transforming Scholarly Practice for the Public Good, by Jessie Daniels and Polly Thistlethwaite (Policy Press, distributed by University of Chicago Press; 176 pages; $99 hardcover, $29.95 paperback). Discusses the use of new technologies for both scholarship and activism.
Community of Scholars, Community of Teachers, by Judith Shapiro (Prickly Paradigm Press, distributed by University of Chicago Press; 52 pages; $12.95). Advocates a communal approach to teaching, with faculty members working together across divisions to explore and evaluate practices.
The Convergence of K-12 and Higher Education: Policies and Programs in a Changing Era, edited by Christopher P. Loss and Patrick J. McGuinn (Harvard Education Press; 296 pages; $64 hardcover, $32 paperback). Essays on such topics as similarities in federal assessment of both educational sectors, and Common Core standards as a potential solution to the problem of underprepared students entering college.
The Enlightened College Applicant: A New Approach to the Search and Admissions Process, by Andrew Belasco and Dave Bergman (Rowman & Littlefield; 252 pages; $30). Topics include maximizing admissions prospects, minimizing costs in a “buyers’ market,” degrees with the best return on investment, and the extent to which an institution’s prestige really matters.
Envisioning the Faculty for the 21st Century: Moving to a Mission-Oriented and Learner-Centered Model, edited by Adrianna Kezar and Daniel Maxey (Rutgers University Press; 226 pages; $49.95). Topics include what is termed the “reprofessionalization of the professoriate,” extending both benefits and responsibilities to what is now a majority non-tenure-track, contingent faculty.
The Faculty Factor: Reassessing the American Academy in a Turbulent Era, by Martin J. Finkelstein, Valerie Martin Conley, and Jack H. Schuster (Johns Hopkins University Press; 584 pages; $50). Uses previously unpublished data to examine the transformation of the professoriate.
Game of Loans: The Rhetoric and Reality of Student Debt, by Beth Akers and Matthew M. Chingos (Princeton University Press; 181 pages; $26.95). Describes as a manufactured myth the notion of a widespread, systemic student-loan crisis in the United States; argues that ideas of a broad-based single crisis have obscured the reality of multiple problems with the system and led to poor policy making.
Higher Education Rulemaking: The Politics of Creating Regulatory Policy, by Rebecca S. Natow (Johns Hopkins University Press; 216 pages; $55). Combines document analysis and interview data in a study of the making of federal regulatory policy on higher education, including the issues of financial aid and student debt.
Student Affairs Leadership: Defining the Role Through an Ecological Framework, by Linda Kuk and James H. Banning (Stylus Publishing; 216 pages; $95 hardcover, $35 paperback). Offers a contextual model of student-affairs leadership that acknowledges the wider environmental forces that can affect outcomes.
Transforming Understandings of Diversity in Higher Education: Demography, Democracy, and Discourse, edited by Penny A. Pasque and others (Stylus Publishing; 276 pages; $95 hardcover, $35 paperback). Combines scholarly and personal perspectives in writings on such topics as college access for low-income students, the rhetoric of diversity in HBCUs, the experience of LGBTQ students on campus, and the inclusion of disability in diversity discourse.
Written/Unwritten: Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure, edited by Patricia A. Matthew (University of North Carolina Press; 312 pages; $27.95). Essays and interviews on unwritten rules that shape tenure decisions and faculty diversity in the humanities. (Read an interview with Ms. Matthew.)
