Old Main – Small Colleges in Twenty–First Century America

This perceptive and cogent account draws on key data and firsthand observations to tell the story of the small college in America. Defined as institutions that enroll between 500 and 3,000 full-time students, small colleges number about six hundred in the United States. Many are thriving, while some―whether through low enrollment, ballooning debt, or simple misfortune―face uncertain futures.

Informed by his own experiences as a teacher and administrator, Samuel Schuman sketches the history and development of these institutions; then focuses on their current conditions and future possibilities. Administrators, faculty, and researchers will appreciate Schuman's insight into institutional choices and their consequences. Old Main is an essential book for anyone who shares Schuman's conviction that small colleges occupy a central place in American higher education.

Samuel Schuman is Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Minnesota, Morris. He is the author of Cyril Tourneur: A Reference Guide, The Theatre of Fine Devices: Emblems and the Emblematic in the Plays of John Webster, and Vladimir Nabokov: A Reference Guide.