Higher Education for the Public Good: A Typology

Abstract

In this chapter, I explore the historical and contemporary discourse (verbal and written) about higher education’s relationships with society in order to uncover current dominant cognitive processing models—or frames—on the topic. Lakoff (2006) recognizes frames as “the mental structures that allow human beings to understand reality—and sometimes to create what we take to be reality” (p. 25). First, I offer a brief overview of the conceptualizations of higher education’s relationships with society from historical perspectives, as contemporary leaders often refer to earlier leaders when sharing their current perspectives. This review is not meant to be exhaustive but offers a concise temporal exploration of various perspectives of issues that continue today.