Inventions & Reinventions
Reinvention is not new. Higher education has historically reinvented itself in response to demographic, cultural, and technological changes. More students have led to more schools teaching more subjects. New technology from printed books to the Internet has led to increased opportunities and challenges.

Let's take a quick look.

In ancient Greece, men like Socrates -- the first teacher whose name we know -- instructed elite young men in philosophy and rhetoric to prepare them for positions of leadership.

In Europe during the late Middle Ages, reading and writing joined oral instruction. The first large centralized campuses arose. Practical courses in civil law were added to the traditional liberal arts and classical languages studied by elite young men. Drinking, hazing, and gambling were popular pastimes too!

The number and variety of students and schools have grown dramatically in the past 200 years, especially in America.

On the eve of the American Revolution, there were approximately nine colleges in the United States. On the eve of the Civil War, there were 200. Now 3600 colleges and universities enroll 15 million students a year.

Students: Male and female students of all ages and ethnicities
Subjects: Everything. Most popular majors are psychology and business management.
Sites: A rich mixture of large public university systems, private universities, many types of private colleges, and off-campus sites through distance learning
1944: The GI Bill (Servicemen's Readjustment Act) is passed, attracting a new and less traditional group of students. Undergraduate enrollment doubles from pre-war levels.
The Federal government becomes a major source of funding for students and for institutions themselves.
The 1940s: Scientists at the University of Chicago develop the atomic bomb.
The 1950s: The National Science Foundation is created. At first, it only funds research at a small number of elite institutions.
1957: Sputnik is launched by the USSR. International arms and space races lead to a new emphasis on science and math education and research.
The NSF's budget grows from $40 million in 1958 to $134 million in 1959. By 1968 it reaches $500 million and is spread across diverse campuses.
1963-1965: President Johnson's Great Society program funds new construction and expansion at colleges and universities across the country.
The 1960s and 1970s: Students Challenge Tradition and Authority
Schools rethink traditional classical curriculum and incorporate applied and "useful" subjects. Experimental models abound.
1970-1975: Community college proliferate as their enrollment almost doubles. Enrollment at traditional liberal arts colleges drops sharply.
1970: The National Guard shoots and kills a Kent State University student during a violent protest.
The 1980s: New connections between business and higher education create new educational and research synergies and new demands. The business model becomes a model for university administration.
The 1990s-2000: New demographics emerge as adult students seek further education; Recent immigration booms affect metropolitan campuses; The children of the "baby boomers" reach college age.
New computer technology drive new ways of teaching and learning. The completely online Jones International University is accredited.