A Dam in the River: Releasing the Flow of University Ideas

A Dam in the River challenges the academic culture and conventions that leave the vast majority of Americans out of contact with university ideas. The book shows what types of university ideas are important for the general public and why, reveals several reasons why public access to these ideas is so limited, and offers a comprehensive strategy for opening the sluice gates and letting the ideas flow, at little or no financial cost. The book shows how anyone, on- or off-campus, could help implement this strategy, for the benefit of all. What types of benefit can ideas provide? An idea can change a mind, change a life, change the world. In five years of research for the book, Dr. Camhi conducted 155 in-depth interviews of presidents and other academic leaders at 26 of America's most distinguished universities and colleges, plus 13 additional academic organizations. He also carried out surveys, analyzed other national surveys, calculated the numbers of Americans engaged in various campus-based activities, studied the content of these activities, and analyzed the writings of America's greatest academic leaders. A Dam in the River is written in a popular style, and with a touch of humor. Readers require no academic background. The book is intended to inspire, and then help guide, a movement to make the ideas generated at America's great universities and colleges accessible to all Americans, for the public good.