The Complexity of Higher Education: A Career in Academics and Activism

The international dimensions of higher education were, in the 1960s, not much analyzed. Academic systems in much of the world were small and oriented toward the elites. Massification was beginning. At the same time, students were an active political force on campus and in society. Philip Altbach’s career was shaped by these developments, and by a commitment, stimulated by dissertation research, to an international perspective and a focus on India. Knowledge distribution, through books and journals, and the publishing industry are also little researched topics as they relate to higher education. Altbach, who served as editor of several top academic journals, analyzes the practices and economics of scholarly publishing. In the past several decades, with the salience of globalization, Altbach has examined the concepts of globalization and internationalization in higher education. The key role of the academic profession is also discussed in the context of the development of research universities.