Historically, many faculty and administrators in higher education have regarded themselves as above the fray--part of the national interest, not a special interest--and considered lobbying a dirty business unworthy of their lofty enterprise. Now that academia no longer enjoys all the respect and good will that federal policy makers once afforded it, that attitude has changed. The Republican sweep of the 1994 Congressional elections served as a wake-up call for the higher education community. In response, it made a spirited effort to gain attention for its own policy preferences. Lobbying for Higher Education is about how the major higher education associations and the constituent American colleges and universities try to influence federal policy, especially congressional policy. In clear prose Cook explains how the higher education community organizes itself in Washington, how it lobbies, and how its major interest groups are perceived both by their own members and by public officials. The book focuses on the crucial development in 1995-1996 of a new lobbying paradigm, which included the greater use of campus-based resources and ad hoc coalitions. The most engrossing part of its story is higher education's creative response to the policy turmoil and disruption of the status quo that resulted from the shift in congressional party control. The author, Constance Cook, uses sources unique to this project: over 1,500 survey responses from college and university presidents (a 62% return rate) and nearly 150 interviews with institutional and association leaders. Fortuitously, the 1994 electoral upheaval provided her with an opportunity to capture, analyze, and interpret the responses of her subjects in a period of unusually sweeping change. Lobbying for Higher Education is a timely book with an interesting and important story at its core.

From Campus to Capitol takes a comprehensive look at how governments affect institutions of higher learning, in the process illuminating the role of the government relations officer. All institutions of higher learning, from large state universities to community and private colleges, benefit from strong relationships with local, state, and federal governments. This book examines the importance of government relations officers and discusses how they can most effectively negotiate a tangled web of political entities—from community associations to mayors to lobbyists—while ensuring that their institution's best interests are met. In an era of declining state appropriations, increasing economic instability, and surging enrollments, successful interaction with government representatives is crucial. Whether securing a million-dollar federal earmark or helping to support the local economy, the government relations officer's influence is essential, both where it shows and behind the scenes. Drawing on more than thirty years of experience, William McMillen offers an insider's account of this major player in American higher education. Anecdotes and interviews with other government relations officers illustrate the challenges they face on and off campus.

An overview of the process of university participation in state politics is provided, including the way in which a university interacts with the governor's office and the way it competes with other universities and other agencies for budget dollars. The following 23 articles are included: "The Influence of State Constitutional Conventions on the Future of Higher Education" (Samuel K. Gove and Susan Welch); "State Constitutions--An Update" (Leonard E. Goodall); "Constitutional Autonomy for Universities: The Current State of Judicial Opinions" (Richard B. Crockett); "Governors and Higher Education" (Samuel K. Gove); "University Reorganization in Wisconsin" (Allen Rosenbaum); "The State Story: Administrative Centralization" (Malcolm Moos and Francis E. Rourke); "Legislators and Academicians" (Heinz Eulau and Harold Quinley); "Lobbying for Limited Resources" (John W. Hicks); "How To Play the State Capitol Game" (Dan Angel); "Public Universities and the New State Politics" (E. Terrence Jones); "Long-Term Expectations for Financing Higher Education" (M. M. Chambers);"State Tuition Policies and Public Higher Education" (Allan W. Ostar); "The Management of Universities of Constant or Decreasing Size" (Richard M. Cyert); "Should States Support Private Colleges--Yes!" (Steven Muller); "Should States Support Private Colleges--No!" (Bill J. Priest); "The Public-Private Debate" (Frank H. T. Rhodes); "Trends in Statewide Planning and Coordination" (Patrick M. Callan and Richard W. Jonsen); "Ambiguities in the Administration of Public University System: An Organizing Perspective" (Lawrence K. Pettit); "Who's Afraid of the Statewide Board?" (James A. Norton); "The Point of the Discourse" (M. M. Chambers); "Memo to a Multicampus Trustee from a Flagship CEO" (Barry Munitz); "The Future of the Land-Grant University" (Malcolm Moos); and "State Colleges: An Unsettled Quality" (Robert Birnbaum). References included with each chapter. (KM)

Information about current policy issues and relationships Between state governments and higher education is presented, with focus on the conceptual issue of accountability and autonomy. The relationship between state governments and colleges is continually evolving. Four sections cover the following: (1) leadership in higher education (the state-level higher education agency, trustees, governing boards, multicampus systems, governors and higher education, lobbying, acountability, autonomy, and regulation); (2) state financial support for higher education in transition (newer developments in state financing of higher education, higher education and economic development, and state support of private institutions); (3) current state/campus policy issues (higher education and reform, minorities in higher education, program review in higher education, and the state's role in assessment and quality); and (4) analysis and implications (the relationship between state government and higher education, state leadership in higher education, financing higher education at the state level, state-campus policy issues, implications for institutions, and implications for research and policy making). Contains about 300 references. (SM)