Studying the History of Higher Education Journal

Technological Innovation for Mission and Status: Access, Exclusivity, and the Evolution of Cassette Programs at Canisius College

2026-02-18T19:21:19+00:00

Before online learning became commonplace, audio- and videocassette courses offered an early form of asynchronous distance education. This archival study examines the emergence and evolution of cassette-based distance learning at Canisius College from 1973 to 1994. Initially launched as an innovative audiovisual extension program to expand access to higher education for nontraditional students, the initiative culminated in a 1980 proposal for an accredited associate degree program. Framed within Canisius’s Jesuit tradition of service and educational access, this programmatic expansion prompted sharp criticism in student newspaper editorials and raised students’ concern regarding academic quality and institutional prestige. Through the analysis of student newspaper reports alongside socioeconomic and political factors, this article uncovers a persistent tension in higher education: the friction between leveraging technology to democratize access and maintaining the institutional exclusivity that confers prestige and status. The historical analysis offers valuable lessons for contemporary discussions on remote and digital education and provides critical insights into the institutional challenges of integrating nontraditional educational technologies within established, traditional academic frameworks.

SOM: Scholars or Managers? A History of Business Education at Yale

2026-04-10T17:49:06+00:00

Why did it take Yale until 1976 to establish a business school, nearly a century later than many of its peers? This paper argues that the protracted founding of the Yale School of Management (SOM) reflects a long-standing tension between management education and the academic ideals of America’s elite liberal arts universities. Drawing on archival documents, university records, and original interviews, it reconstructs the savvy 15-year campaign under President Kingman Brewster to normalize the idea of a business school operating alongside Yale’s existing, storied institutions. Rather than compete with a crowded field of prestigious MBA offerings, Yale developed a new and unconventional degree intended to prepare leaders at the intersection of the public and private sectors—though external pressures soon forced SOM to abandon much of its original distinctiveness. The history of SOM’s founding provides insight into how institutional identity and cultural politics collided during the transition from “Old Yale” to “New Yale.” Ultimately, this paper illustrates that the same contending ideologies that defined the mid-century debate over SOM continue to shape the university’s relationship with business and entrepreneurship in the present day.

A Floor, Not a Ceiling: The ABA's 2016 Experiential Learning Standard and the Unfinished Reform of American Legal Education

2026-06-24T19:28:45+00:00

American legal education has undergone a significant transformation since the colonial era, when apprenticeship served as the primary means of professional preparation. As higher education faces increasing pressure to produce workforce-ready graduates, legal education offers an instructive case study of the effects of prioritizing academic rigor over applied preparation—effects evident in client services, access to justice, and ongoing debates over professional competence. Drawing on Kolb's (2015) experiential learning cycle and Dewey's (1938/2015) foundational argument that structured reflection transforms experience into knowledge, this paper argues that the dominant Langdellian model, established at Harvard in the 1870s, structurally underdeveloped the conditions that professional competence requires. Landmark reform efforts, including the 1979 Cramton Report, the 1992 MacCrate Report, the 2007 Carnegie Report, and the American Bar Association’s (ABA) 2014 adoption of Standard 303(a)(3), implemented beginning in the 2016–2017 academic year, demonstrate a pattern of institutional acknowledgment without institutional resolve. This article argues that the six-credit-hour experiential requirement, implemented beginning in the 2016–2017 academic year, while a meaningful threshold, represents a floor rather than a full commitment to experiential education. The article calls for continued examination of how law schools, particularly those serving rural and underserved populations, can move beyond minimum compliance toward substantive reform.

Chasing Mr. Rockefeller’s Dollars: Denison University, the University of Chicago, and Educational Philanthropy

2026-04-15T14:30:46+00:00

This article details the late 19th century shift in Rockefeller’s educational philanthropy that reflected a blending of his initial Baptist motivations for giving with increasingly secular intentions. His giving patterns to Denison University and the University of Chicago illustrate that evolution. Beginning in 1868, he gave generously to Denison University in Granville, Ohio, increased his involvement over subsequent years, becoming a trustee and making larger gifts to the institution. Over time, however, competing appeals drew Rockefeller’s attention away from Denison. Beginning in 1890, he became the major benefactor of the reestablished University of Chicago, as his involvement with Denison waned. The shift in Rockefeller’s philosophy of giving marked a major turning point in higher education as large-scale philanthropy increasingly supported universities committed to research. The article traces this shift through original correspondence and archival materials.

Editorial Introduction: Balancing Tradition and Rising Demands in Higher Education

2026-09-29T21:29:57+00:00

This editorial introduction presents the third issue of the Studying the History of Higher Education Journal and identifies a common theme across its four historical essays: the tension between established traditions and emerging demands for access, relevance, professional preparation, and social purpose in American higher education. The issue examines how institutions have responded to technological innovation, changing workforce expectations, philanthropic influence, and evolving conceptions of public service while seeking to preserve academic legitimacy, institutional identity, and prestige. Baah and Creps analyze Canisius College’s cassette-based distance education program and the tension between expanding access and maintaining institutional exclusivity. Neissen traces the prolonged establishment of the Yale School of Management and the debate over professional business education within an elite liberal arts university. Tomisich examines the history of experiential learning reform in legal education and the continuing gap between doctrinal instruction and practical professional preparation. Read explores John D. Rockefeller’s educational philanthropy through his relationships with Denison University and the University of Chicago, highlighting a shift from denominational giving toward support for the modern research university. Taken together, the essays demonstrate that institutional change in higher education involves the continual negotiation of tradition, mission, access, professional expectations, and social purpose.