Do Academics Know Their Own History?

'Why academics need to know more about the history of higher education.'

Steven Mintz, professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, in Inside Higher Ed

"When it comes to knowledge about higher education’s history, most academics are aware of a few historical landmarks: Harvard’s founding in 1636; the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, establishing land-grant colleges; the establishment of the AAUP in 1915; and the 1944 GI Bill of Rights.

"But most know remarkably little about key historical themes involving academic freedom, coeducation, racial integration and the development of tenure. Few, I suspect, realize that tenure only became near-universal at four-year institutions in the 1960s."