The Life and Legacy of Ernest L. Boyer

Campus Life: In Search of Community—Expanded Edition

In 1990, under the direction of Ernest Boyer, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching published a classic report on the loss of a meaningful basis for true community on college campuses―and in the nation. Now this expanded edition of Campus Life: In Search of Community reintroduces educational leaders to the Boyer report’s proposals while offering up-to-date analysis and recommendations for Christian campuses today. Editors Drew Moser and Todd C. Ream have assembled pairs of academic and student-development leaders from top Christian colleges to offer a hopeful update on the practical contributions of Christian higher education to the practice of community. This volume includes new chapters, the long out-of-print Boyer report in its entirety, and a discussion guide to facilitate team conversations. Higher education now stands at a critical point, yet the contributors to this expanded edition of Campus Life see current challenges as an opportunity to revive Boyer’s commitment to its formative power. Contributors include:

Mark L. Sargent and Edee Schulze of Westmont College
Randall Basinger and Kris Hansen-Kieffer of Messiah College
Brad Lau and Linda Samek of George Fox University
Stephen T. Beers and Edward Ericson III of John Brown University
Paul O. Chelsen and Margaret Diddams of Wheaton College
Doretha O’Quinn and Tim Young of Vanguard University

Christian higher education now stands at a critical point, yet the contributors to this expanded edition of Campus Life see current challenges as an opportunity to revive Boyer’s commitment to understanding the formative power of Christian higher education.

Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate—Updated and Expanded Edition

Shifting faculty roles in a changing landscape

Ernest L. Boyer’s landmark book Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate challenged the publish-or-perish status quo that dominated the academic landscape for generations. His powerful and enduring argument for a new approach to faculty roles and rewards continues to play a significant part of the national conversation on scholarship in the academy.

Though steeped in tradition, the role of faculty in the academic world has shifted significantly in recent decades. The rise of the non-tenure-track class of professors is well documented. If the historic rule of promotion and tenure is waning, what role can scholarship play in a fragmented, unbundled academy? Boyer offers a still much-needed approach. He calls for a broadened view of scholarship, audaciously refocusing its gaze from the tenure file and to a wider community.

This expanded edition offers, in addition to the original text, a critical introduction that explores the impact of Boyer’s views, a call to action for applying Boyer’s message to the changing nature of faculty work, and a discussion guide to help readers start a new conversation about how Scholarship Reconsidered applies today.

Ernest L. Boyer: Hope for Today’s Universities

Having served as chancellor of the State University of New York, the United States commissioner of education, and president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Ernest L. Boyer (1928–1995) was one of the most prominent leaders in the history of American higher education. Arguably more aware of the challenges facing colleges and universities than any of his peers, the administrative decisions and the writings he left behind provide a wealth of possibilities for subsequent generations of administrators and faculty members. In this book noted higher education scholars examine some of the most pressing crises in higher education today, pairing their thoughts with relevant selections from Boyer’s important writings—some published here for the first time. The volume provides answers to questions perceived to be plaguing academe, while reintroducing readers to the optimistic and insightful wisdom of Ernest L. Boyer.