Focusing on the American university system, this unique and revealing volume examines the conflict inherent in academic freedom when universities rely on political institutions for much of their support. Can scholars resist the pressure to curry favor in the governmental educational establishment by engaging in research that furthers the growth of the state system? What implications does this have for the quality of a university education? And, on a deeper level, what are the potential effects on the intellectual development of our society?

Top scholars from a wide range of disciplines–education, agriculture, accounting, law, economics, biology, history, epistemology–examine these and other probing questions, marking one of the first attempts ever by academia to look closely at itself and examine potential weaknesses.

The result is a ground-breaking work, providing deep insights into the very fiber of our academic institutions. With an introduction by Sidney Hook, one of the most distinguished commentators on American higher education in this century, this volume is a must for educators in all disciplines, public policy makers, and anyone else concerned with the quality of a modern college education.

ROGER E. MEINERS received his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a J.D. from the University of Miami Law School. He is a Professor of Law and Economics and the Director of the Center for Policy Studies, Clemson University. He is the author of Victim Compensation, Legal Environment of Business, and coeditor of Regulation and the Reagan Era.

RYAN C. AMACHER earned his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. He is a Professor of Economics and the Dean of the College of Commerce and Industry, Clemson University. He is the author of Yugoslavians Foreign Trade, the coauthor of Principles of Economics, and the coeditor of The Economic Approach to Public Policy.