The University of Chicago: A History

by John W. Boyer

One of the most influential institutions of higher learning in the world, the University of Chicago has a powerful and distinct identity, and its name is synonymous with intellectual rigor. With nearly 170,000 alumni living and working in more than 150 countries, its impact is far-reaching and long-lasting.

With The University of A History , John W. Boyer, Dean of the College since 1992, presents a deeply researched and comprehensive history of the university. Boyer has mined the archives, exploring the school’s complex and sometimes controversial past to set myth and hearsay apart from fact. The result is a fascinating narrative of a legendary academic community, one that brings to light the nature of its academic culture and curricula, the experience of its students, its engagement with Chicago’s civic community, and the conditions that have enabled the university to survive and sustain itself through decades of change.

Boyer’s extensive research shows that the University of Chicago’s identity is profoundly interwoven with its history, and that history is unique in the annals of American higher education. After a little-known false start in the mid-nineteenth century, it achieved remarkable early successes, yet in the 1950s it faced a collapse of undergraduate enrollment, which proved fiscally debilitating for decades. Throughout, the university retained its fierce commitment to a distinctive, intense academic culture marked by intellectual merit and free debate, allowing it to rise to international acclaim. Today it maintains a strong obligation to serve the larger community through its connections to alumni, to the city of Chicago, and increasingly to its global community.

Published to coincide with the 125th anniversary of the university, this must-have reference will appeal to alumni and anyone interested in the history of higher education of the United States.

Genres: History, Education, Nonfiction

704 pages, Hardcover

First published September 23, 2015

About the author

John W. Boyer is a Professor of History and the Dean of the College at the University of Chicago. His fields include "Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century European Political and Cultural History, particularly in Germany and the Habsburg Empire, Religion and Politics in Modern European History and the History of the Universities". He is perhaps best known for his two-volume history of the Christian Social Party during the end of the 19th century in Austria. He co-edits, with Jan Goldstein, the Journal of Modern History.

Reviews

[Dennis Cahillane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deeply-researched and unfailingly accurate, the story is hamstrung by its ambition to tell the entire story of the U of Chicago. Most of the most important players in the university's history aren't mentioned or are only mentioned in passing. However, fundraising by the board of trustees, and the undergraduate curriculum receive heavy attention. This simply isn't the book I was hoping for.

I was hoping for more about what makes U of C different--the commitment to free speech and original sources, taking intellectual topics seriously. I'd've liked more analysis of the skyrocketing cost of undergraduate attendance, the wisdom of ever-longer PhD programs with ever-fewer academic job openings, and what creative improvements are possible to our current systems.

The good parts of the book are so well told it makes the boring parts all the more painful. The story of Charles Walgreen withdrawing his niece from U of C, his letter leaking to the press and leading to testimony in Springfield was downright gripping! The paradoxical relationship between the university and the surrounding neighborhoods is deftly described as well.

Viewing a university from the president's or chancellor's office (as this book does) is a strange vantage point--you're surrounded by interesting people but you can't spend too much time zoomed in on any one of them, because you need to be off fundraising, dealing with the press, negotiating with politicians and dealing with conflict. It's a good job for someone else, not me.

[UChicagoLaw]

The University of Chicago: A History (2015) by John W. Boyer, Martin A. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of History and the College and Dean of the College, is the magisterial and comprehensive account of the University’s history. It contains fascinating and insightful encounters with the great and influential personalities of the University, and it reveals how the University of Chicago’s distinctive values and culture came to be. —Thomas J. Miles

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done book and very cool to learn this history of my Alma mater. I’m a fundraiser by profession and it was interesting to see how important fundraising was in the origin and development of the university. In fact, the author points out that the profession being called “development” originated with the University of Chicago.

My only complaint was that the book didn’t always give as much attention as it could to certain contextual events. For example, the earliest years saw the Columbian Exposition happen on the campus and this was not mentioned at all. Some of the mundane events could have been sacrificed for more interesting events, discoveries, origins of the professional schools, etc.

[Yisu Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

仔细读了几周，终于看完。对于大部分芝大外部的读者来说，及其多的行政和政治细节让人无从下手，这可能是最被人诟病的部分。当然，其实我觉得最大的问题还是不平衡。本科生学院的讨论占据了书的大部分篇幅（毕竟Boyer本人是院长），而professional school的部分太少了。但是不管从学生人数和收入的角度，研究生早就超过本科生了。各学院和大学之间的关系也没有太多着墨（例如法学院和Harris事实上和整个大学的财务联系很稀薄）等等。不过作者着重讨论的部分还是让人印象深刻的。就是作为一个后起的私立研究型大学，芝大凭借着对于智识主义的坚持（在Hutchins后期到了偏执的程度），顽强地发展了起来。历史上大部分时候芝大都不是同类学校里规模最大，最富有的学校（在5，6所学校里垫底），但无人能取代独特的它。

[Adam Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I somehow felt a moral obligation to read this, despite my lukewarm feelings toward the U of C. It was drier than I had hoped, focusing more on the leadership of the university than the happenings on campus during the various decades, but nevertheless very informative. John Boyer is a cool dude!

[Zachary Rudolph · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The establishment of the University of Chicago was looked upon by the Board as a matter above and beyond all political considerations, not as a thing for for the moment, but for all time”