Downstairs, Upstairs: The Changed Spirit and Face of College Life in America

U.S. colleges and universities are a wonder of the World. Over the generations they have grown to more than 3,875 institutions. Student enrollment tops 15,000,000. The complexities in their diversity boggle the mind. New knowledge constantly uncovered through research by professors changes our lives. However, forces exist that threaten the integrity of higher education. Social, economic, ethnic, and political issues alter the spirit and face of U.S. college campuses. Some trends such as political correctness and a plethora of lawsuits neuter educational substance. The orderly cosmos of higher education is in danger of becoming disorderly chaos. Financial disparities between universities assume extravagant proportions. The rich get richer. The many hundreds of campuses serving the mass market of students are unable to compete with the relative handful of super-rich universities.

In Upstairs, Downstairs, John Flower explores the forces that alter college life in America. He analyzes and codifies them, offering suggestions for ways they should be dealt with by university professionals and by concerned citizens and community leaders worried about the state of higher education. Given today’s world, campus change is inevitable. But the negative impact of a component of this change can be modified. With the help of enlightened citizens it can even be adjusted to enhance the character and characteristics of higher education. As such, Flower’s book is a wake-up call.