20th Anniversary of ROPS

2019 marks the 20th anniversary of the Center’s launch of its Research and Occasional Paper Series (ROPS). Since its founding in 1957 as the first academic research center focused on higher education in the United States, and probably the world, CSHE had published various working papers by its many associates and visiting scholars. But in 1999, the launch of ROPS by founding editor John Aubrey Douglass initiated a systematic publication series in an on-line, open access format, dedicated to publishing papers that relate to the Center’s mission: to promote multidisciplinary research. 

Since 1999, more than 250 ROPS have been published that range from thoughtful essays by practitioners and observers of higher education policy and politics, to rigorous academic studies that reflect the diversity of CSHE’s many research associates over the years – authors who bring their methodologies in sociology, history, political science, economics, engineering and many other academic disciplines.

ROPS has also proved a highly successful vehicle for distributing the work of the Center’s many researchers and associates’ overtime with an average of more than 100,000 individual downloads of papers a year that are listed on CSHE ROPS website, UC’s eScholarship website, and ERIC (the US Department of Education websource). Contributors have ranged from practitioners such as university presidents, to world renowned researchers and CSHE visiting scholars, to graduate students.

Many papers have had a significant impact on policy discussions; many have later been published in academic journals or as exploratory chapters that have led to books. One of the founding principles of the ROPS series is that authors retain copyright, that they use the citation formats of their discipline, and that there are no significant limits on the length of their contribution – although with advice provided by the editor and selected reviewers.

The following provides a incomplete selection of ROPS contributions over the years some by topic and including noted authors and others that made important scholarly and policy relevant contributions. For a complete list of ROPS contributions by year see the CSHE ROPS website. To search ROPS by title/author/subject, visit the Publications landing page, select "ROPS and Occasional Paper Series" under the "Publication Type" drop down menu.

Browse ROPS by Topic

Click on the drop down menus below to view ROPS published by topic.

Access and Equity

Equity

Ensuring equity in higher education is essential for fostering inclusive learning environments and expanding opportunities for historically underrepresented and marginalized groups. At CSHE, our research examines disparities in access, retention, and student outcomes, as well as the policies and institutional practices that promote or hinder educational equity. We explore issues related to race, gender, socioeconomic status, and other intersecting identities, with the goal of advancing more just and inclusive higher education systems.

As part of our commitment to equity, CSHE has...

Access and Admission

CSHE has published a series of papers on the access and equity in higher education. Selected publications include: Eligibility for Admission to the University of California After the SAT/ACT: Toward a Redefinition of Eligibility, by Saul Geiser, CSHE 2.22 (February 2022) Top Percent Policies and the...

Public University Systems and the Benefits of Scale by James R. Johnsen. CSHE 2. 2024 (February 2024)

James Johnsen
2024

Multi-campus public higher education governance systems exist in 44 of the 50 U.S. states. They include all the largest and most influential public colleges and universities in the United States, educating fully 75 percent of the nation’s public sector students. Their impact is enormous. And yet, they are largely neglected and as a tool for improvement are underutilized. Meanwhile, many states continue to struggle achieving their goals for higher education attainment, social and economic mobility, workforce development, equitable access and affordability, technological innovation,...

Affirmative action and its race-neutral alternatives

February 7, 2023

As affirmative action loses political feasibility, many universities have implemented race-neutral alternatives like top percent policies and holistic review to increase enrollment among disadvantaged students. I study these policies’ application, admission, and enrollment effects using University of California administrative data. UC’s affirmative action and top percent policies increased underrepresented minority (URM) enrollment by over 20 percent and less than 4 percent, respectively. Holistic review increases implementing campuses’ URM enrollment by about 7 percent. Top percent...

Collective Bargaining and Social Justice in the Post-Covid Digital Era, by Daniel J. Julius, CSHE 13.21 (December 2021)

Daniel J. Julius
2021

This paper examines social justice and collective bargaining with a focus on higher education. Observations are offered around the following issues: a) a brief history of social justice as it has been conceptualized in labor management relations with a particular focus on unions in higher education; b) identification of collective bargaining scenarios when social justice platforms may have a more salient impact on negotiations; c) actions and strategies the parties might consider to accommodate social justice concerns in the bargaining process; and d) measuring and assessing collective...

College Major Restrictions and Student Stratification by Zachary Bleemer and Aashish Mehta, CSHE 14.21 (December 2021)

Zachary Bleemer
Aashish Mehta
2021

Underrepresented minority (URM) college students have been steadily earning degrees in relatively less-lucrative fields of study since the mid-1990s. A decomposition reveals that this widening gap is principally explained by rising stratification at public research universities, many of which increasingly enforce GPA restriction policies that prohibit students with poor introductory grades from declaring popular majors. We investigate these GPA restrictions by constructing a novel 50-year dataset covering four public research universities’ student transcripts and employing a dynamic...

Raising Graduation Rates While Maintaining Racial-Ethnic Equity in Graduation: The UC Riverside Recipe by Steven Brint CSHE 9.21 (September 2021)

Steven Brint
2021

The University of California, Riverside has raised its four- and six-year graduation rates significantly over the last decade while maintaining near-equity in graduation rates among the four major racial-ethnic groups and across socio-economic strata. The paper discusses campus policies and practices that have helped to produce these results. The campus has contributed to nearly equal graduation outcomes by maintaining strong network ties with parents in minority communities, by offering high levels of academic support and research opportunities to students from under-represented groups,...

Intimidation, Silencing, Fear, and Academic Freedom, by Steve Brint, CSHE 4.21 (March 2021)

Steven Brint
2021

The argument of this paper is set against the backdrop of a climate of intimidation, silencing, and fear that surrounds the discussion of several hot-button issues in academe, nowadays mainly having to do with race. An important and painful feature of this situation is that people on both sides of the issue feel vulnerable. The contribution of this paper is to help all involved to understand what academic freedom means and how it supports or fails to support the expression of controversial views. I show that a climate hostile to academic freedom is not an academic freedom issue per se. It...

Top Percent Policies and the Return to Postsecondary Selectivity, by Zachary Bleemer, CSHE 1.21 (January 2021)

Zachary Bleemer
2021

I study the efficacy of test-based meritocracy in college admissions by evaluating the impact of a grade-based “top percent'' policy implemented by the University of California. Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) provided large admission advantages to the top four percent of 2001-2011 graduates from each California high school. I construct a novel longitudinal dataset linking the ELC era’s 1.8 million UC applicants to educational and labor market outcomes. I first employ a regression discontinuity design to show that ELC led over 10 percent of barely-eligible applicants from low-...

Rethinking standardised testing to end discrimination

John Aubrey Douglass
2020

In a shot heard around the United States, on May 21, 2020, the University of California’s Board of Regents suspended the requirement and use of standardized tests, including the SAT and ACT, for freshman applicants. UC will be test optional for campus selection of freshman in fall 2021 and 2022, and “beginning with fall 2023 applicants and ending with fall 2024 applicants, campuses will not consider test scores for admissions selection at all, and will practice test-blind admissions selection.”

The Regents, along with some 1,200 other universities and colleges, had previously...

ASYMMETRY BY DESIGN? Identity Obfuscation, Reputational Pressure, and Consumer Predation in U.S. For-Profit Higher Education, by Adam Goldstein and Charlie Eaton CSHE 5.20 (May 2020)

Adam Goldstein
Charlie Eaton
2020

This article develops and tests an identity-based account of malfeasance in consumer markets. It is hypothesized that multi-brand organizational structures help predatory firms short-circuit reputational discipline by rendering their underlying identities opaque to consumer audiences. The analysis utilizes comprehensive administrative data on all for-profit U.S. colleges, an industry characterized by widespread fraud and poor (though variable) educational outcomes. Consistent with the hypothesis that brand differentiation facilitates malfeasance by reducing ex ante reputational risks,...

Winners and Losers? The Effect of Gaining and Losing Access to Selective Colleges on Education and Labor Market Outcomes, by Sandra Black, Jeffrey Denning, and Jesse Rothstein CSHE 2.20 (May 2020)

Sandra E. Black
Jeffrey T. Denning
Jesse Rothstein
2020

Selective college admissions are fundamentally a question of tradeoffs: Given capacity, admitting one student means rejecting another. Research to date has generally estimated average effects of college selectivity and has been unable to distinguish between the effects on students gaining access and on those losing access under alternative admissions policies. We use the introduction of the Top Ten Percent rule and administrative data from the State of Texas to estimate the effect of access to a selective college on student graduation and earnings outcomes. We estimate separate effects on...

DIVERSITY IN UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS: Affirmative Action, Percent Plans, and Holistic Review by Zachary Bleemer CSHE 6.19 (July 2019)

Zachary Bleemer
2019

There is considerable interest in the impact of policy alternatives to race-based affirmative action (AA) on under-represented minority (URM) university enrollment. Widely-implemented alternatives include percent plans, which guarantee admission to top high school students, and holistic review, in which applications are evaluated on a comprehensive set of merits. This study estimates each policy's URM enrollment effect at the University of California (UC). Difference-in-difference estimates show that AA increased annual UC URM enrollment by more than 800 students (20%), and by more than 60...

BERKELEY VERSUS THE SAT: A Regent, a Chancellor and a Debate on the Value of Standardized Testing in Admissions by John Aubrey Douglass CSHE 3.19 (January 2019)

John Aubrey Douglass
2019

The following essay details a debate between UC Berkeley and a Regent who made charges of discrimination against Asian-American students that are similar to the current legal challenges facing Harvard University. The crux of such charges: on average, that one racial or ethnic group is more “qualified” than other groups, often underrepresented minorities, yet they have lower admissions rates. In 2004, Regent John Moores, convinced of discriminatory practices toward Asian-American students in the admissions process at Berkeley, did his own analysis of UC admissions data focused on SAT scores...

A Social Contract Between the Public Higher Education Sector and the People of South Africa, by Ahmed C. Bawa

Ahmed C. Bawa
2000

The higher education sector in South Africa is experiencing an existential crisis. For all of its diverse elements and activities and values as a system, its historic mission and the role that it plays in society were defined for it in the previous era - this not withstanding the progressive roles played by some of the . However, it is an existential crisis which stems only partially from its history in our Apartheid past. Its intellectual and organisational shape stems also from its place on the edge of the global academic metropole from which it attempts to draw its academic...

U. C. Faculty Hiring: The Pool, Parity, and Progress -- Testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Government Oversight

M. R. C. Greenwood
2001

This paper represents the testimony before a State Senate Committee concerning the hiring of women faculty at the University of California. It examines the status of the employment of women faculty, the decrease in the hiring of women after Prop. 209, the difficulties of the job market, and the strategies the university is using to attract and retain qualified women faculty.

Inequality, Student Achievement, and College Admissions: A Remedy for Underrepresentation, by Roger E. Studley

Roger E. Studley
2003

Large socioeconomic and ethnic disparities exist in college admissions. This paper demonstrates that by systematically accounting for the effect of socioeconomic circumstance on pre-college achievement, colleges can substantially reduce these disparities. A conceptual model distinguishes students' realized achievement from their underlying ability (inclusive of effort and motivation) and relates achievement differences to both ability and socioeconomic circumstance. The model shows that an admissions policy that systematically accounts for the relationship between circumstance and...

California Issues

Commentaries

Commentaries by CSHE staff and affiliates

Clark Kerr Lecture

This lecture series was established in 2001 under the auspices of the Center for Studies in Higher Education on the Berkeley campus. The Clark Kerr Lectures series honors Clark Kerr, president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967 and long recognized as one of the great leaders of American higher education in the twentieth century. The Lectures provide a forum for analysis and reflection about the forces shaping universities and the complex roles they play in modern society. Recipients of the honor are selected once every two years and are sponsored by Center for...

Chronicle of the University of California

The Chronicle offers a historical perspective, considering past university events in the context of ongoing changes within the university. Issues were organized around single themes that presented an inherent longitudinal view of the university’s development.

CSHE Report

CSHE Reports are publications produced by the Center for Studies in Higher Education that address timely issues, trends, and policy challenges in higher education. These reports aim to inform institutional leaders, policymakers, researchers, and the public by providing rigorous analysis, practical insights, and evidence-based recommendations.

CSHE Newsletter April 2025

New Forbes Report Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Findings

April 24, 2025

A new Forbes report, authored by Bryan Penprase (Vice President for Sponsored Research & External Academic Relations, Soka University of America) featured the latest findings from the SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Science and Its Discontents: An Evolutionary Tale

Donald Kennedy
2008

This paper analyzes the roots and implications of conflict between the conduct of science and government predilections in the United States, including the security state and neoconservative control of Washington. Three major conflicts are discussed: the emergence of new security and secrecy regimes that seek control of science; religiously derived moral viewpoints that seek to limit scientific research; and the purposeful shaping and censoring of scientific findings for political gain. All three policy issues, argues the author, have their roots in a growing public mistrust of science and...

The American Research University from World War II to World Wide Web

Charles M. Vest
2007

Forty years after Clark Kerr coined the term multiversity, the American research university has continued to evolve into a complex force for social and economic good. This volume provides a unique opportunity to explore the current state of the research university system. Charles M. Vest, one of the leading advocates for autonomy for American higher education, offers a multifaceted view of the university at the beginning of a new century. With a complex mission and funding structure, the university finds its international openness challenged by new security concerns and...

The Dream is Over: The Crisis of Clark Kerr’s California Idea of Higher Education

Simon Marginson
2016

The Dream Is Over tells the extraordinary story of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education in California, created by visionary University of California President Clark Kerr and his contemporaries. The Master Plan’s equality of opportunity policy brought college within reach of millions of American families for the first time and fashioned the world’s leading system of public research universities. The California idea became the leading model for higher education across the world and has had great influence in the rapid growth of universities in China and East Asia. Yet, remarkably...

Searching for Utopia: Universities and Their Histories

Hanna Holborn Gray
2011

In Searching for Utopia, Hanna Holborn Gray reflects on the nature of the university from the perspective of today’s research institutions. In particular, she examines the ideas of former University of California president Clark Kerr as expressed in The Uses of the University, written during the tumultuous 1960s. She contrasts Kerr’s vision of the research-driven “multiveristy” with the traditional liberal educational philosophy espoused by Kerr’s contemporary, former University of Chicago president Robert Maynard Hutchins. Gray’s insightful analysis shows...

Clark Kerr and the Californian Model of Higher Education

Simon Marginson
2014

Fifty years on, Clark Kerr’s multiversity and the Californian Master Plan for Higher Education stand as signal high points in the building of not just great public institutions but high participation modern human society. Key features of the Californian Model have become a universal template for research universities and system design. Seminal ideas and practices of higher education developed by Clark Kerr, Martin Trow, Burton Clark and others continue to colonize the thinking of policy makers, scientists, scholars, students and citizens, with profound effects not just in the United States...

Dynamics of the Contemporary University

Neil Smelser
2013

This book is an expanded version of the Clark Kerr Lectures of 2012, delivered by Neil Smelser at the University of California at Berkeley in January and February of that year. The initial exposition is of a theory of change—labeled structural accretion—that has characterized the history of American higher education, mainly (but not exclusively) of universities. The essence of the theory is that institutions of higher education progressively add functions, structures, and constituencies as they grow, but seldom shed them, yielding increasingly complex structures. The...

University World News Coverage of the SERU Multi-Engagement Report

April 15, 2025

CSHE's Igor Chirikov and John Aubrey Douglass published an article at University World News entitled "Study finds lingering impact of COVID on student experience," featuring the recently released SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Inside Higher Ed Article Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Report

April 11, 2025

A new article from Inside Higher Education entitled "Data: Students Less Involved on Campus Post-Pandemic" features SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Career

Inside the SERU Engagement Report--A Conversation with the Authors

April 8, 2025
CSHE's Igor Chirikov and John Aubrey Doulgass presented the recently released SERU Multi-Engagement Report at a town hall meeting at the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU). The town hall was moderated by Steve Dandaneau, UERU, Executive Director.

CSHE Newsletter March 2025

March 31, 2025

As we close out March, CSHE reflects on a month filled with insightful events, new research, and critical conversations about the future of higher education. We hosted thought-provoking discussions on women STEM faculty and released the latest SERU report, offering fresh insights into student experiences and institutional challenges.

At the same time, higher education faces growing uncertainty—from shifting federal research funding to mounting concerns over academic freedom. These challenges underscore the need for continued dialogue and research to support...

Job Opening: Research Specialist

April 8, 2025
About the Center for Studies in Higher Education and the California Policy Lab

The Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) at the Goldman School of Public Policy produces multi-disciplinary scholarly perspectives on strategic issues in higher education. Established in 1956, it was the first research institute in the United States devoted to the study of higher education. CSHE conducts policy relevant research, promotes the development of a community of scholars and policymakers engaged in policy oriented discussion, produces...

Job Opening: Researcher

we are hiring About the Center for Studies in Higher Education and the California Policy Lab

The Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) at the Goldman School of Public Policy produces multi-disciplinary scholarly perspectives on strategic issues in higher education. Established in 1956, it was the first research institute in the United States devoted to the study of higher education....

E-Learning

Commentaries

Commentaries by CSHE staff and affiliates

Clark Kerr Lecture

This lecture series was established in 2001 under the auspices of the Center for Studies in Higher Education on the Berkeley campus. The Clark Kerr Lectures series honors Clark Kerr, president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967 and long recognized as one of the great leaders of American higher education in the twentieth century. The Lectures provide a forum for analysis and reflection about the forces shaping universities and the complex roles they play in modern society. Recipients of the honor are selected once every two years and are sponsored by Center for...

Chronicle of the University of California

The Chronicle offers a historical perspective, considering past university events in the context of ongoing changes within the university. Issues were organized around single themes that presented an inherent longitudinal view of the university’s development.

CSHE Report

CSHE Reports are publications produced by the Center for Studies in Higher Education that address timely issues, trends, and policy challenges in higher education. These reports aim to inform institutional leaders, policymakers, researchers, and the public by providing rigorous analysis, practical insights, and evidence-based recommendations.

CSHE Newsletter April 2025

New Forbes Report Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Findings

April 24, 2025

A new Forbes report, authored by Bryan Penprase (Vice President for Sponsored Research & External Academic Relations, Soka University of America) featured the latest findings from the SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Global Trends and Issues/Comparative Studies

Commentaries

Commentaries by CSHE staff and affiliates

Clark Kerr Lecture

This lecture series was established in 2001 under the auspices of the Center for Studies in Higher Education on the Berkeley campus. The Clark Kerr Lectures series honors Clark Kerr, president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967 and long recognized as one of the great leaders of American higher education in the twentieth century. The Lectures provide a forum for analysis and reflection about the forces shaping universities and the complex roles they play in modern society. Recipients of the honor are selected once every two years and are sponsored by Center for...

Chronicle of the University of California

The Chronicle offers a historical perspective, considering past university events in the context of ongoing changes within the university. Issues were organized around single themes that presented an inherent longitudinal view of the university’s development.

CSHE Report

CSHE Reports are publications produced by the Center for Studies in Higher Education that address timely issues, trends, and policy challenges in higher education. These reports aim to inform institutional leaders, policymakers, researchers, and the public by providing rigorous analysis, practical insights, and evidence-based recommendations.

CSHE Newsletter April 2025

New Forbes Report Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Findings

April 24, 2025

A new Forbes report, authored by Bryan Penprase (Vice President for Sponsored Research & External Academic Relations, Soka University of America) featured the latest findings from the SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Science and Its Discontents: An Evolutionary Tale

Donald Kennedy
2008

This paper analyzes the roots and implications of conflict between the conduct of science and government predilections in the United States, including the security state and neoconservative control of Washington. Three major conflicts are discussed: the emergence of new security and secrecy regimes that seek control of science; religiously derived moral viewpoints that seek to limit scientific research; and the purposeful shaping and censoring of scientific findings for political gain. All three policy issues, argues the author, have their roots in a growing public mistrust of science and...

The American Research University from World War II to World Wide Web

Charles M. Vest
2007

Forty years after Clark Kerr coined the term multiversity, the American research university has continued to evolve into a complex force for social and economic good. This volume provides a unique opportunity to explore the current state of the research university system. Charles M. Vest, one of the leading advocates for autonomy for American higher education, offers a multifaceted view of the university at the beginning of a new century. With a complex mission and funding structure, the university finds its international openness challenged by new security concerns and...

The Dream is Over: The Crisis of Clark Kerr’s California Idea of Higher Education

Simon Marginson
2016

The Dream Is Over tells the extraordinary story of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education in California, created by visionary University of California President Clark Kerr and his contemporaries. The Master Plan’s equality of opportunity policy brought college within reach of millions of American families for the first time and fashioned the world’s leading system of public research universities. The California idea became the leading model for higher education across the world and has had great influence in the rapid growth of universities in China and East Asia. Yet, remarkably...

Searching for Utopia: Universities and Their Histories

Hanna Holborn Gray
2011

In Searching for Utopia, Hanna Holborn Gray reflects on the nature of the university from the perspective of today’s research institutions. In particular, she examines the ideas of former University of California president Clark Kerr as expressed in The Uses of the University, written during the tumultuous 1960s. She contrasts Kerr’s vision of the research-driven “multiveristy” with the traditional liberal educational philosophy espoused by Kerr’s contemporary, former University of Chicago president Robert Maynard Hutchins. Gray’s insightful analysis shows...

Clark Kerr and the Californian Model of Higher Education

Simon Marginson
2014

Fifty years on, Clark Kerr’s multiversity and the Californian Master Plan for Higher Education stand as signal high points in the building of not just great public institutions but high participation modern human society. Key features of the Californian Model have become a universal template for research universities and system design. Seminal ideas and practices of higher education developed by Clark Kerr, Martin Trow, Burton Clark and others continue to colonize the thinking of policy makers, scientists, scholars, students and citizens, with profound effects not just in the United States...

Governance, Management and Budget

Commentaries

Commentaries by CSHE staff and affiliates

Clark Kerr Lecture

This lecture series was established in 2001 under the auspices of the Center for Studies in Higher Education on the Berkeley campus. The Clark Kerr Lectures series honors Clark Kerr, president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967 and long recognized as one of the great leaders of American higher education in the twentieth century. The Lectures provide a forum for analysis and reflection about the forces shaping universities and the complex roles they play in modern society. Recipients of the honor are selected once every two years and are sponsored by Center for...

Chronicle of the University of California

The Chronicle offers a historical perspective, considering past university events in the context of ongoing changes within the university. Issues were organized around single themes that presented an inherent longitudinal view of the university’s development.

CSHE Report

CSHE Reports are publications produced by the Center for Studies in Higher Education that address timely issues, trends, and policy challenges in higher education. These reports aim to inform institutional leaders, policymakers, researchers, and the public by providing rigorous analysis, practical insights, and evidence-based recommendations.

CSHE Newsletter April 2025

New Forbes Report Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Findings

April 24, 2025

A new Forbes report, authored by Bryan Penprase (Vice President for Sponsored Research & External Academic Relations, Soka University of America) featured the latest findings from the SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Science and Its Discontents: An Evolutionary Tale

Donald Kennedy
2008

This paper analyzes the roots and implications of conflict between the conduct of science and government predilections in the United States, including the security state and neoconservative control of Washington. Three major conflicts are discussed: the emergence of new security and secrecy regimes that seek control of science; religiously derived moral viewpoints that seek to limit scientific research; and the purposeful shaping and censoring of scientific findings for political gain. All three policy issues, argues the author, have their roots in a growing public mistrust of science and...

The American Research University from World War II to World Wide Web

Charles M. Vest
2007

Forty years after Clark Kerr coined the term multiversity, the American research university has continued to evolve into a complex force for social and economic good. This volume provides a unique opportunity to explore the current state of the research university system. Charles M. Vest, one of the leading advocates for autonomy for American higher education, offers a multifaceted view of the university at the beginning of a new century. With a complex mission and funding structure, the university finds its international openness challenged by new security concerns and...

The Dream is Over: The Crisis of Clark Kerr’s California Idea of Higher Education

Simon Marginson
2016

The Dream Is Over tells the extraordinary story of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education in California, created by visionary University of California President Clark Kerr and his contemporaries. The Master Plan’s equality of opportunity policy brought college within reach of millions of American families for the first time and fashioned the world’s leading system of public research universities. The California idea became the leading model for higher education across the world and has had great influence in the rapid growth of universities in China and East Asia. Yet, remarkably...

Searching for Utopia: Universities and Their Histories

Hanna Holborn Gray
2011

In Searching for Utopia, Hanna Holborn Gray reflects on the nature of the university from the perspective of today’s research institutions. In particular, she examines the ideas of former University of California president Clark Kerr as expressed in The Uses of the University, written during the tumultuous 1960s. She contrasts Kerr’s vision of the research-driven “multiveristy” with the traditional liberal educational philosophy espoused by Kerr’s contemporary, former University of Chicago president Robert Maynard Hutchins. Gray’s insightful analysis shows...

Clark Kerr and the Californian Model of Higher Education

Simon Marginson
2014

Fifty years on, Clark Kerr’s multiversity and the Californian Master Plan for Higher Education stand as signal high points in the building of not just great public institutions but high participation modern human society. Key features of the Californian Model have become a universal template for research universities and system design. Seminal ideas and practices of higher education developed by Clark Kerr, Martin Trow, Burton Clark and others continue to colonize the thinking of policy makers, scientists, scholars, students and citizens, with profound effects not just in the United States...

Dynamics of the Contemporary University

Neil Smelser
2013

This book is an expanded version of the Clark Kerr Lectures of 2012, delivered by Neil Smelser at the University of California at Berkeley in January and February of that year. The initial exposition is of a theory of change—labeled structural accretion—that has characterized the history of American higher education, mainly (but not exclusively) of universities. The essence of the theory is that institutions of higher education progressively add functions, structures, and constituencies as they grow, but seldom shed them, yielding increasingly complex structures. The...

University World News Coverage of the SERU Multi-Engagement Report

April 15, 2025

CSHE's Igor Chirikov and John Aubrey Douglass published an article at University World News entitled "Study finds lingering impact of COVID on student experience," featuring the recently released SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Inside Higher Ed Article Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Report

April 11, 2025

A new article from Inside Higher Education entitled "Data: Students Less Involved on Campus Post-Pandemic" features SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Career

Inside the SERU Engagement Report--A Conversation with the Authors

April 8, 2025
CSHE's Igor Chirikov and John Aubrey Doulgass presented the recently released SERU Multi-Engagement Report at a town hall meeting at the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU). The town hall was moderated by Steve Dandaneau, UERU, Executive Director.

CSHE Newsletter March 2025

March 31, 2025

As we close out March, CSHE reflects on a month filled with insightful events, new research, and critical conversations about the future of higher education. We hosted thought-provoking discussions on women STEM faculty and released the latest SERU report, offering fresh insights into student experiences and institutional challenges.

At the same time, higher education faces growing uncertainty—from shifting federal research funding to mounting concerns over academic freedom. These challenges underscore the need for continued dialogue and research to support...

Job Opening: Research Specialist

April 8, 2025
About the Center for Studies in Higher Education and the California Policy Lab

The Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) at the Goldman School of Public Policy produces multi-disciplinary scholarly perspectives on strategic issues in higher education. Established in 1956, it was the first research institute in the United States devoted to the study of higher education. CSHE conducts policy relevant research, promotes the development of a community of scholars and policymakers engaged in policy oriented discussion, produces...

Job Opening: Researcher

we are hiring About the Center for Studies in Higher Education and the California Policy Lab

The Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) at the Goldman School of Public Policy produces multi-disciplinary scholarly perspectives on strategic issues in higher education. Established in 1956, it was the first research institute in the United States devoted to the study of higher education....

Higher Education History

Commentaries

Commentaries by CSHE staff and affiliates

Clark Kerr Lecture

This lecture series was established in 2001 under the auspices of the Center for Studies in Higher Education on the Berkeley campus. The Clark Kerr Lectures series honors Clark Kerr, president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967 and long recognized as one of the great leaders of American higher education in the twentieth century. The Lectures provide a forum for analysis and reflection about the forces shaping universities and the complex roles they play in modern society. Recipients of the honor are selected once every two years and are sponsored by Center for...

Chronicle of the University of California

The Chronicle offers a historical perspective, considering past university events in the context of ongoing changes within the university. Issues were organized around single themes that presented an inherent longitudinal view of the university’s development.

CSHE Report

CSHE Reports are publications produced by the Center for Studies in Higher Education that address timely issues, trends, and policy challenges in higher education. These reports aim to inform institutional leaders, policymakers, researchers, and the public by providing rigorous analysis, practical insights, and evidence-based recommendations.

CSHE Newsletter April 2025

New Forbes Report Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Findings

April 24, 2025

A new Forbes report, authored by Bryan Penprase (Vice President for Sponsored Research & External Academic Relations, Soka University of America) featured the latest findings from the SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Science and Its Discontents: An Evolutionary Tale

Donald Kennedy
2008

This paper analyzes the roots and implications of conflict between the conduct of science and government predilections in the United States, including the security state and neoconservative control of Washington. Three major conflicts are discussed: the emergence of new security and secrecy regimes that seek control of science; religiously derived moral viewpoints that seek to limit scientific research; and the purposeful shaping and censoring of scientific findings for political gain. All three policy issues, argues the author, have their roots in a growing public mistrust of science and...

The American Research University from World War II to World Wide Web

Charles M. Vest
2007

Forty years after Clark Kerr coined the term multiversity, the American research university has continued to evolve into a complex force for social and economic good. This volume provides a unique opportunity to explore the current state of the research university system. Charles M. Vest, one of the leading advocates for autonomy for American higher education, offers a multifaceted view of the university at the beginning of a new century. With a complex mission and funding structure, the university finds its international openness challenged by new security concerns and...

The Dream is Over: The Crisis of Clark Kerr’s California Idea of Higher Education

Simon Marginson
2016

The Dream Is Over tells the extraordinary story of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education in California, created by visionary University of California President Clark Kerr and his contemporaries. The Master Plan’s equality of opportunity policy brought college within reach of millions of American families for the first time and fashioned the world’s leading system of public research universities. The California idea became the leading model for higher education across the world and has had great influence in the rapid growth of universities in China and East Asia. Yet, remarkably...

International Case Studies

Commentaries

Commentaries by CSHE staff and affiliates

Clark Kerr Lecture

This lecture series was established in 2001 under the auspices of the Center for Studies in Higher Education on the Berkeley campus. The Clark Kerr Lectures series honors Clark Kerr, president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967 and long recognized as one of the great leaders of American higher education in the twentieth century. The Lectures provide a forum for analysis and reflection about the forces shaping universities and the complex roles they play in modern society. Recipients of the honor are selected once every two years and are sponsored by Center for...

Chronicle of the University of California

The Chronicle offers a historical perspective, considering past university events in the context of ongoing changes within the university. Issues were organized around single themes that presented an inherent longitudinal view of the university’s development.

CSHE Report

CSHE Reports are publications produced by the Center for Studies in Higher Education that address timely issues, trends, and policy challenges in higher education. These reports aim to inform institutional leaders, policymakers, researchers, and the public by providing rigorous analysis, practical insights, and evidence-based recommendations.

CSHE Newsletter April 2025

New Forbes Report Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Findings

April 24, 2025

A new Forbes report, authored by Bryan Penprase (Vice President for Sponsored Research & External Academic Relations, Soka University of America) featured the latest findings from the SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Science and Its Discontents: An Evolutionary Tale

Donald Kennedy
2008

This paper analyzes the roots and implications of conflict between the conduct of science and government predilections in the United States, including the security state and neoconservative control of Washington. Three major conflicts are discussed: the emergence of new security and secrecy regimes that seek control of science; religiously derived moral viewpoints that seek to limit scientific research; and the purposeful shaping and censoring of scientific findings for political gain. All three policy issues, argues the author, have their roots in a growing public mistrust of science and...

The American Research University from World War II to World Wide Web

Charles M. Vest
2007

Forty years after Clark Kerr coined the term multiversity, the American research university has continued to evolve into a complex force for social and economic good. This volume provides a unique opportunity to explore the current state of the research university system. Charles M. Vest, one of the leading advocates for autonomy for American higher education, offers a multifaceted view of the university at the beginning of a new century. With a complex mission and funding structure, the university finds its international openness challenged by new security concerns and...

The Dream is Over: The Crisis of Clark Kerr’s California Idea of Higher Education

Simon Marginson
2016

The Dream Is Over tells the extraordinary story of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education in California, created by visionary University of California President Clark Kerr and his contemporaries. The Master Plan’s equality of opportunity policy brought college within reach of millions of American families for the first time and fashioned the world’s leading system of public research universities. The California idea became the leading model for higher education across the world and has had great influence in the rapid growth of universities in China and East Asia. Yet, remarkably...

Searching for Utopia: Universities and Their Histories

Hanna Holborn Gray
2011

In Searching for Utopia, Hanna Holborn Gray reflects on the nature of the university from the perspective of today’s research institutions. In particular, she examines the ideas of former University of California president Clark Kerr as expressed in The Uses of the University, written during the tumultuous 1960s. She contrasts Kerr’s vision of the research-driven “multiveristy” with the traditional liberal educational philosophy espoused by Kerr’s contemporary, former University of Chicago president Robert Maynard Hutchins. Gray’s insightful analysis shows...

Clark Kerr and the Californian Model of Higher Education

Simon Marginson
2014

Fifty years on, Clark Kerr’s multiversity and the Californian Master Plan for Higher Education stand as signal high points in the building of not just great public institutions but high participation modern human society. Key features of the Californian Model have become a universal template for research universities and system design. Seminal ideas and practices of higher education developed by Clark Kerr, Martin Trow, Burton Clark and others continue to colonize the thinking of policy makers, scientists, scholars, students and citizens, with profound effects not just in the United States...

Dynamics of the Contemporary University

Neil Smelser
2013

This book is an expanded version of the Clark Kerr Lectures of 2012, delivered by Neil Smelser at the University of California at Berkeley in January and February of that year. The initial exposition is of a theory of change—labeled structural accretion—that has characterized the history of American higher education, mainly (but not exclusively) of universities. The essence of the theory is that institutions of higher education progressively add functions, structures, and constituencies as they grow, but seldom shed them, yielding increasingly complex structures. The...

University World News Coverage of the SERU Multi-Engagement Report

April 15, 2025

CSHE's Igor Chirikov and John Aubrey Douglass published an article at University World News entitled "Study finds lingering impact of COVID on student experience," featuring the recently released SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Inside Higher Ed Article Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Report

April 11, 2025

A new article from Inside Higher Education entitled "Data: Students Less Involved on Campus Post-Pandemic" features SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Career

Inside the SERU Engagement Report--A Conversation with the Authors

April 8, 2025
CSHE's Igor Chirikov and John Aubrey Doulgass presented the recently released SERU Multi-Engagement Report at a town hall meeting at the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU). The town hall was moderated by Steve Dandaneau, UERU, Executive Director.

CSHE Newsletter March 2025

March 31, 2025

As we close out March, CSHE reflects on a month filled with insightful events, new research, and critical conversations about the future of higher education. We hosted thought-provoking discussions on women STEM faculty and released the latest SERU report, offering fresh insights into student experiences and institutional challenges.

At the same time, higher education faces growing uncertainty—from shifting federal research funding to mounting concerns over academic freedom. These challenges underscore the need for continued dialogue and research to support...

Job Opening: Research Specialist

April 8, 2025
About the Center for Studies in Higher Education and the California Policy Lab

The Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) at the Goldman School of Public Policy produces multi-disciplinary scholarly perspectives on strategic issues in higher education. Established in 1956, it was the first research institute in the United States devoted to the study of higher education. CSHE conducts policy relevant research, promotes the development of a community of scholars and policymakers engaged in policy oriented discussion, produces...

Scholarly Communication

Commentaries

Commentaries by CSHE staff and affiliates

Clark Kerr Lecture

This lecture series was established in 2001 under the auspices of the Center for Studies in Higher Education on the Berkeley campus. The Clark Kerr Lectures series honors Clark Kerr, president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967 and long recognized as one of the great leaders of American higher education in the twentieth century. The Lectures provide a forum for analysis and reflection about the forces shaping universities and the complex roles they play in modern society. Recipients of the honor are selected once every two years and are sponsored by Center for...

Chronicle of the University of California

The Chronicle offers a historical perspective, considering past university events in the context of ongoing changes within the university. Issues were organized around single themes that presented an inherent longitudinal view of the university’s development.

Science and Technology

Commentaries

Commentaries by CSHE staff and affiliates

Clark Kerr Lecture

This lecture series was established in 2001 under the auspices of the Center for Studies in Higher Education on the Berkeley campus. The Clark Kerr Lectures series honors Clark Kerr, president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967 and long recognized as one of the great leaders of American higher education in the twentieth century. The Lectures provide a forum for analysis and reflection about the forces shaping universities and the complex roles they play in modern society. Recipients of the honor are selected once every two years and are sponsored by Center for...

Chronicle of the University of California

The Chronicle offers a historical perspective, considering past university events in the context of ongoing changes within the university. Issues were organized around single themes that presented an inherent longitudinal view of the university’s development.

CSHE Report

CSHE Reports are publications produced by the Center for Studies in Higher Education that address timely issues, trends, and policy challenges in higher education. These reports aim to inform institutional leaders, policymakers, researchers, and the public by providing rigorous analysis, practical insights, and evidence-based recommendations.

CSHE Newsletter April 2025

New Forbes Report Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Findings

April 24, 2025

A new Forbes report, authored by Bryan Penprase (Vice President for Sponsored Research & External Academic Relations, Soka University of America) featured the latest findings from the SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Undergraduate Education

Commentaries

Commentaries by CSHE staff and affiliates

Clark Kerr Lecture

This lecture series was established in 2001 under the auspices of the Center for Studies in Higher Education on the Berkeley campus. The Clark Kerr Lectures series honors Clark Kerr, president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967 and long recognized as one of the great leaders of American higher education in the twentieth century. The Lectures provide a forum for analysis and reflection about the forces shaping universities and the complex roles they play in modern society. Recipients of the honor are selected once every two years and are sponsored by Center for...

Chronicle of the University of California

The Chronicle offers a historical perspective, considering past university events in the context of ongoing changes within the university. Issues were organized around single themes that presented an inherent longitudinal view of the university’s development.

CSHE Report

CSHE Reports are publications produced by the Center for Studies in Higher Education that address timely issues, trends, and policy challenges in higher education. These reports aim to inform institutional leaders, policymakers, researchers, and the public by providing rigorous analysis, practical insights, and evidence-based recommendations.

CSHE Newsletter April 2025

New Forbes Report Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Findings

April 24, 2025

A new Forbes report, authored by Bryan Penprase (Vice President for Sponsored Research & External Academic Relations, Soka University of America) featured the latest findings from the SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Science and Its Discontents: An Evolutionary Tale

Donald Kennedy
2008

This paper analyzes the roots and implications of conflict between the conduct of science and government predilections in the United States, including the security state and neoconservative control of Washington. Three major conflicts are discussed: the emergence of new security and secrecy regimes that seek control of science; religiously derived moral viewpoints that seek to limit scientific research; and the purposeful shaping and censoring of scientific findings for political gain. All three policy issues, argues the author, have their roots in a growing public mistrust of science and...

The American Research University from World War II to World Wide Web

Charles M. Vest
2007

Forty years after Clark Kerr coined the term multiversity, the American research university has continued to evolve into a complex force for social and economic good. This volume provides a unique opportunity to explore the current state of the research university system. Charles M. Vest, one of the leading advocates for autonomy for American higher education, offers a multifaceted view of the university at the beginning of a new century. With a complex mission and funding structure, the university finds its international openness challenged by new security concerns and...

The Dream is Over: The Crisis of Clark Kerr’s California Idea of Higher Education

Simon Marginson
2016

The Dream Is Over tells the extraordinary story of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education in California, created by visionary University of California President Clark Kerr and his contemporaries. The Master Plan’s equality of opportunity policy brought college within reach of millions of American families for the first time and fashioned the world’s leading system of public research universities. The California idea became the leading model for higher education across the world and has had great influence in the rapid growth of universities in China and East Asia. Yet, remarkably...

Searching for Utopia: Universities and Their Histories

Hanna Holborn Gray
2011

In Searching for Utopia, Hanna Holborn Gray reflects on the nature of the university from the perspective of today’s research institutions. In particular, she examines the ideas of former University of California president Clark Kerr as expressed in The Uses of the University, written during the tumultuous 1960s. She contrasts Kerr’s vision of the research-driven “multiveristy” with the traditional liberal educational philosophy espoused by Kerr’s contemporary, former University of Chicago president Robert Maynard Hutchins. Gray’s insightful analysis shows...

Clark Kerr and the Californian Model of Higher Education

Simon Marginson
2014

Fifty years on, Clark Kerr’s multiversity and the Californian Master Plan for Higher Education stand as signal high points in the building of not just great public institutions but high participation modern human society. Key features of the Californian Model have become a universal template for research universities and system design. Seminal ideas and practices of higher education developed by Clark Kerr, Martin Trow, Burton Clark and others continue to colonize the thinking of policy makers, scientists, scholars, students and citizens, with profound effects not just in the United States...

Dynamics of the Contemporary University

Neil Smelser
2013

This book is an expanded version of the Clark Kerr Lectures of 2012, delivered by Neil Smelser at the University of California at Berkeley in January and February of that year. The initial exposition is of a theory of change—labeled structural accretion—that has characterized the history of American higher education, mainly (but not exclusively) of universities. The essence of the theory is that institutions of higher education progressively add functions, structures, and constituencies as they grow, but seldom shed them, yielding increasingly complex structures. The...

University World News Coverage of the SERU Multi-Engagement Report

April 15, 2025

CSHE's Igor Chirikov and John Aubrey Douglass published an article at University World News entitled "Study finds lingering impact of COVID on student experience," featuring the recently released SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Inside Higher Ed Article Featuring SERU Multi-Engagement Report

April 11, 2025

A new article from Inside Higher Education entitled "Data: Students Less Involved on Campus Post-Pandemic" features SERU Multi-Engagement Report.

Career