In a world progressing with dizzying acceleration into the Information Age, the slow, measured approach of the traditional university can place administrator, faculty member, and student alike at a disadvantage. To move into this brave new world, the academic animal needs tools.

Beyond 2020: Envisioning the Future of Universities in America is that tool. Higher education experts in a host of fields project into the future and paint a clear picture of the future university. Nearly two dozen scholars, including James Duderstadt and Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, provide the most detailed road map yet to the perils and promise of the Information Age—as it directly applies to academia.

This is a collection of refreshingly frank opinions and observations from forward-thinking experts on the front lines with the best views on how to prepare the healthiest possible institution of tomorrow. It is something akin to an academic prophesy, but grounded in the expertise of a combined several centuries' worth of higher education experience.