Originally published in 1996 The Social Role of Higher Education is an anthology of nine papers, it presents cases studies showing how culture influences the social role of higher education in various nations. It examines how environments get defined and how they shape universities, and how knowledge and academic work interact in national contexts. This book focuses on how both developed and developing countries' systems of higher education are affected by their own culture and their place within the larger global context.

Originally published in 1996 The Social Role of Higher Education is an anthology of nine papers, it presents cases studies showing how culture influences the social role of higher education in various nations. It examines how environments get defined and how they shape universities, and how knowledge and academic work interact in national contexts. This book focuses on how both developed and developing countries' systems of higher education are affected by their own culture and their place within the larger global context.

Colleges and universities are currently undergoing the most significant challenges they have faced since World War II. Rising costs, increased competition from for-profit providers, the impact of technology, and the changing desires and needs of consumers have combined to create a dynamic tension for those who work in, and study, postsecondary education. What worked yesterday is unlikely to work tomorrow. The status quo or bromides such as 'stay the course' are insufficient responses in a market that demands creativity and innovation if an organization does not simply wish to survive, but thrive. Managerial responses or top-down linear decisions are antithetical to academic organizations and most likely recipes for disaster. In today's 'flat world', decision-making for most organizations has become less hierarchical and more decentralized. Understanding this trend is of particular importance for organizations with traditions of shared governance. The message of this book is that understanding organizational culture is critical for those who recognize that academe must change, but are unsure how to make that change happen. Even the most seasoned college and university administrators and professors often ask themselves, 'What holds this place together'? The author's answer is that an organization's culture is the glue of academic life. Paradoxically, this 'glue' does not make things get stuck, but unstuck. An understanding of culture enables an organization's participants to interpret the institution to themselves and others, and in consequence, to propel the institution forward. An organization's culture is reflected in what is done, how it is done, and who is involved in doing it. It concerns decisions, actions, and communication on an instrumental and symbolic level. This book considers various facets of academic culture, discusses how to study it, how to analyze it, and how to improve it in order to move colleges and universities aggressively into the future while maintaining core academic values. This book presents updated versions of eight key articles on organizational culture in higher education by William G. Tierney. The new introduction that sets them in the context of current and future challenges will add further value to articles that are already in high demand.

The 3rd volume of Contemporary Ethnographic Studies focuses on the Web of Leadership and Presidency in Higher Education.

The college application process-which entails multiple forms, essays, test scores, and deadlines-can be intimidating. For students without substantial school and family support, the complexity of this process can become a barrier to access. William G. Tierney, Tracy Fullerton, and their teams at the University of Southern California approach this challenge innovatively. Using the tools of online games and social media, they have developed ways to make applying for college much less intimidating. While the vast majority of college students use social media and gaming in their everyday lives, colleges and universities have been slow to recognize and harness the power of either. Postsecondary Play explores the significance of games and social media in higher education, and particularly how they can be used to attract, retain, educate, and socialize students. Tierney, a past president of the American Educational Research Association, has gathered some of the best research on the emerging role of games and social media in the classroom and how these tools can boost student confidence and increase college access. Scholars writing from a wide variety of disciplines-college access, social media, game studies, and learning sciences-provide concrete examples to illustrate the new and complex ways in which students learn in response to social media and games. Tierney and the contributors find that, although games can be powerful tools for encouraging underserved students, quality game design and mastering the concept of play-the ability to develop skills while engaging in the game-are essential in the effective use of serious games in teaching and learning. Summarizing a decade of research in game design and learning, Postsecondary Play will appeal to higher education scholars and students of learning, online gaming, education, and the media.

One of the few portraits of higher education from a postmodern queer analysis that is devoid of painful rhetoric and brutal theorizing. I plan to use it for a course I teach on gay and lesbian issues. A passionately argued and personally revealing postmodern analysis of academia and the queer presence. Rousing, enlightening, and lucid. --James T. Sears, Professor of Curriculum and Higher Education, University of South Carolina "William G. Tierney amply and ably probes the political charge of the specifics of an out gay researcher versus the unmarked person who does research on gay and/or lesbian topics." --Patti Lather, Professor of Education and Women's Studies, The Ohio State University "William G. Tierney is a practicing 'outlaw,' crisscrossing the horizon where cultural studies meets the academy. One of our premier critics of higher education, Tierney reveals how cultural distinctions shape our relation to key dimensions of everyday life: sexuality, ethnicity, gender, and social class. Academic Outlaws works at the intersections of cultural studies and queer theory by forcing us to reflect on how authors/readers reflect and interact with one another in the construction of a text. The book has a theoretical sophistication and elegance of style that is rare in academic writing. A thought-provoking work that is as courageous as it is provocative." --Peter McLaren, Professor of Education and Cultural Studies, UCLA "Academic Outlaws lays the foundation for those in higher education who are honestly interested in creating inclusive environments on our campuses. William G. Tierney's ability to translate theory into strategies for change eliminates the common excuses that scholars do not provide blueprints for transformation. The book is communicated with passion, commitment, and love. A model for all those who have not been full participants in higher education." --Mildred Garcia, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, Montclair State University "Simultaneously autobiographical, fictional, and theoretical, this powerful and accessible exposition is essential reading for all interested in cultural studies and politics." --William F. Pinar, St. Bernard Parish Alumni Endowed Professor, Louisiana State University "William G. Tierney's juxtaposition of critical theory and structural analysis is the most coherent and systematic framework for cultural studies to date. A far-reaching intellectual accomplishment. The bitter, sweet, and loving persona stories inform both sophisticated theory development and superb tactical and strategic planning for faculty and administrators. No other contemporary work connects these epistemological and methodological arenas so deftly and so accessibly. The book sets a new standard for transdisciplinarity in the social sciences." --Yvonna S. Lincoln, Professor, Texas A&M "Every heterosexual person should read this book. It could be one small step in making for a more peaceful, happier world." --Clyde Hendrick, Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University and formerly Dean, Texas Tech University Graduate School "William G. Tierney provides a provocative contemporary look into queer scholarship and queer scholars. There is certainly a need for this book as many academic units are currently struggling with issues on the role of gay and lesbian scholars and scholarship in their respective disciplines. The book should definitely make a significant contribution to the field of gay and lesbian studies." --Larry D. Icard, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle Scholarly yet provocatively written, Academic Outlaws presents a comprehensive discussion of how life in academe is experienced by gay men and lesbian women. Using a narrative style that mixes autobiography, case study data, and fiction, author William G. Tierney provides timely insight into how homosexuals are treated in higher education and proposes an alternative process for redefining long-established cultural norms. He works at the intersection of "hot points" in intellectual, university life, exploring the theoretical and practical implications of cultural studies, queer theory, and critical theory among others. Drawing readers into a comfortable conversation about some of society's most difficult topics, this book demonstrates the need to reframe concepts such as oppression, difference, language, and culture as they affect the social culture of our learning institutions. Of broad and contemporary appeal, this book should be read by researchers, academics, students, and lay readers as well. Academic Outlaws will also appeal to those interested in knowledge production and how we might reconfigure the academy as we approach the 21st century. The policy-related implications will be stimulating to those who are concerned with issues of equity.

As we enter the 21st century, colleges and universities are in great flux. Fiscal shortfalls, a suspicious public, a more consumer-driven market, and a host of other concerns demand that postsecondary institutions restructure themselves. Building the Responsive Campus offers a critique of modern academia, as well as a proposal for making campuses more effective -- that is, better at meeting clients and customers' needs. Author William G. Tierney addresses the problems that many academic institutions have today in clinging to the practices and organization of the past. He argues that institutions of higher learning are in demand of dramatic organizational changes. The chapters look at key critical issues -- faculty roles and rewards, presidential leadership, strategic planning, assessment, and evaluation-utilizing the latest ideas to bring about structural reform and high performance. The timely volume takes a data-driven approach, using research derived from ethnographies, case studies, and interviews carried out over the past 15 years. By outlining many of the organizational problems that colleges and universities face today, Tierney reveals workable solutions.

How does the digital divide affect the teaching and learning of historically underrepresented students? Many schools and programs in low-income neighborhoods lack access to the technological resources, including equipment and Internet service, that those in middle- and upper-income neighborhoods have at their fingertips. This inequity creates a persistent digital divide-not a simple divide in access to technology per se, but a divide in both formal and informal digital literacy that further marginalizes youths from low-income, minoritized, and first-generation communities. Diversifying Digital Learning outlines the pervasive problems that exist with ensuring digital equity and identifies successful strategies to tackle the issue. Bringing together top scholars to discuss how digital equity in education might become a key goal in American education, this book is structured to provide a framework for understanding how historically underrepresented students most effectively engage with technology-and how institutions may help or hinder students' ability to develop and capitalize on digital literacies. This book will appeal to readers who are well versed in the diverse uses of social media and technologies, as well as less technologically savvy educators and policy analysts in educational organizations such as schools, afterschool programs, colleges, and universities. Addressing the intersection of digital media, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic class in a frank manner, the lessons within this compelling work will help educators enable students in grades K-12, as well as in postsecondary institutions, to participate in a rapidly changing world framed by shifting new media technologies. Contributors: Young Whan Choi, Zoe B. Corwin, Christina Evans, Julie Flapan, Joanna Goode, Erica Hodgin, Joseph Kahne, Suneal Kolluri, Lynette Kvasny, David J. Leonard, Jane Margolis, Crystle Martin, Safiya Umoja Noble, Amanda Ochsner, Fay Cobb Payton, Antar A. Tichavakunda, William G. Tierney, S. Craig Watkins

As the economic value of education increases, as more students seek to complete college courses while forgoing the "undergraduate experience," and as funding for public higher education decreases, the for-profit higher education sector has exploded. In New Players, Different Game, William G. Tierney and Guilbert C. Hentschke compare for-profit and not-for-profit models of higher education to assess the strengths and weaknesses of both.

For-profit institutions offer a fundamentally distinct type of postsecondary education. Some critics argue the institutions are so different they should not be accepted as an integral part of the American higher education system. Here, Tierney and Hentschke explore what traditional and nontraditional colleges and universities can learn from each other, comparing how they recruit students, employ faculty, and organize instructional programs. The authors suggest that, rather than continuing their standoff, the two sectors could mutually benefit from examining each other's culture, practices, and outcomes.

Today, institutional leaders face numerous struggles: intervention from boards of trustees, alumni, and state legislators; decline in financial support from the states; and competition in an increasingly global marketplace. While it is agreed that effective governance structures allow institutions to respond creatively to these challenges, how best to allocate control in order to maximize institutional efficiency, preserve academic freedom, and ensure institutional identity remains unclear. Increasingly, administrators look to non-academic institutions for governance and management strategies.

In "Competing Conceptions of Academic Governance," William G. Tierney brings together faculty members, administrators, and policy experts to discuss differing views of academic governance at institutional, state, and international levels. Topics include the effects of globalization and the prospect of international accreditation; balancing the entrepreneurial and philosophical goals of higher education; the interaction between state governments and public universities; and the conflicting interests and roles of boards of trustees, administrators, and faculty. Carefully weighing various models and strategies, "Competing Conceptions of Academic Governance" provides new ways of understanding and addressing the changes that are transforming higher education.

This book focuses on representations of contested realities in qualitative research. The authors examine two separate, but interrelated, issues: criticisms of how researchers use "voice", and suggestions about how to develop experimental voices that expand the range of narrative strategies.

Changing relationships between researchers and respondents dictate alterations in textual representations -- from the "view from nowhere" to the view from a particular location, and from the omniscient voice authors have struggled with voice in to the polyvocality of communities of individuals. Examples of new representations and textual experiments provide models for how some their texts, and in so doing, broaden who they and we mean by "us".

Research on the organizational culture in higher education affirms that congruent cultures are better than fragmented ones, and that managing culture is an oxymoron. Such analyses often lead to the assumptions that unity of purpose is essential and leadership is impossible.

In Rethinking Education and Poverty, William G Tierney brings together scholars from around the world to examine the complex relationship between poverty and education in the twenty-first century. International in scope, this book assembles the best contemporary thinking about how education can mediate class and improve the lives of marginalized individuals. In remarkably nuanced ways, this volume examines education's role as both a possible factor in perpetuating-and a tool for alleviating-entrenched poverty. Education has long been seen as a way out of poverty. Some critics, however, argue that educational systems mask inequality and perpetuate cycles of poverty and wealth; others believe that the innate resilience or intellectual ability of impoverished students is what allows those individuals to succeed. Rethinking Education and Poverty grapples in turn with the ramifications of each possibility. Throughout these compelling, far-reaching, and provocative essays, the contributors seek to better understand how local efforts to reduce poverty through education interact-or fail to interact-with international assessment efforts. They take a broad historical view, examining social, economic, and educational polices from the post-World War II period to the end of the Cold War and beyond. Although there is no simple solution to inequality, this book makes clear that education offers numerous exciting possibilities for progress.

Today, institutional leaders face numerous struggles: intervention from boards of trustees, alumni, and state legislators; decline in financial support from the states; and competition in an increasingly global marketplace. While it is agreed that effective governance structures allow institutions to respond creatively to these challenges, how best to allocate control in order to maximize institutional efficiency, preserve academic freedom, and ensure institutional identity remains unclear. Increasingly, administrators look to non-academic institutions for governance and management strategies.

In "Competing Conceptions of Academic Governance," William G. Tierney brings together faculty members, administrators, and policy experts to discuss differing views of academic governance at institutional, state, and international levels. Topics include the effects of globalization and the prospect of international accreditation; balancing the entrepreneurial and philosophical goals of higher education; the interaction between state governments and public universities; and the conflicting interests and roles of boards of trustees, administrators, and faculty. Carefully weighing various models and strategies, "Competing Conceptions of Academic Governance" provides new ways of understanding and addressing the changes that are transforming higher education.

In Rethinking Education and Poverty, William G Tierney brings together scholars from around the world to examine the complex relationship between poverty and education in the twenty-first century. International in scope, this book assembles the best contemporary thinking about how education can mediate class and improve the lives of marginalized individuals. In remarkably nuanced ways, this volume examines education's role as both a possible factor in perpetuating-and a tool for alleviating-entrenched poverty. Education has long been seen as a way out of poverty. Some critics, however, argue that educational systems mask inequality and perpetuate cycles of poverty and wealth; others believe that the innate resilience or intellectual ability of impoverished students is what allows those individuals to succeed. Rethinking Education and Poverty grapples in turn with the ramifications of each possibility. Throughout these compelling, far-reaching, and provocative essays, the contributors seek to better understand how local efforts to reduce poverty through education interact-or fail to interact-with international assessment efforts. They take a broad historical view, examining social, economic, and educational polices from the post-World War II period to the end of the Cold War and beyond. Although there is no simple solution to inequality, this book makes clear that education offers numerous exciting possibilities for progress.