The Quiet Crisis argues that we are failing to educate large numbers of students in higher education successfully because we are employing an out-of-date educational model that ignores the knowledge and resources available that would make these students successful. This model—the author argues—ignores the newest scientific findings about how we learn; it still favors those in the upper economic strata and works against minorities, despite efforts to level the playing field; and it is slow to harness the power of technology to allow for deeper and better learning.Drawing on his 30 years as a higher education administrator and policymaker, Peter Smith exposes this hidden crisis in American higher education and makes recommendations for its transformation. Through research data and stories, he argues, clearly and forcefully that our schools are organized for failure and that our historic “industrial model” simply won’t make the grade to compete in the knowledge economy. Unless we rethink higher education profoundly, we will serve a declining percentage of the population successfully each year, and thus we will fail in our mission to create, teach, and sustain the next generation of leaders.This book will appeal not only to teaching faculty and academic administrators, but also to political leaders, parents, and anyone else who cares about the future of the academy and the bigger picture a successful educational system informs.

Peter Smith is founding president of California State University-Monterey Bay (1994). He also founded and served as president of the Community College of Vermont (1971), and served as vice president of advancement at Norwich University (1986) and dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University (1991). A native of Vermont, Smith served there as a state senator, lieutenant governor, and a member of the U.S. Congress.