Improbable Life

Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-0-231-16762-8
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 312 Seiten, Format (B × H): 154 mm x 237 mm, Gewicht: 576 g

Columbia University began the second half of the twentieth century in decline, bottoming out with the student riots of 1968. Yet by the close of the century, the institution had regained its stature as one of the greatest universities in the world.

According to the New York Times, "If any one person is responsible for Columbia's recovery, it is surely Michael Sovern." In this memoir, Sovern, who served as the university's president from 1980 to 1993, recounts his sixty-year involvement with the institution after growing up in the South Bronx. He addresses key issues in academia, such as affordability, affirmative action, the relative rewards of teaching and research, lifetime tenure, and the role of government funding. Sovern also reports on his many off-campus adventures, including helping the victims of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, stepping into the chairmanship of Sotheby's, responding to a strike by New York City's firemen, a police riot and threats to shut down the city's transit system, playing a role in the theater world as president of the Shubert Foundation, and chairing the Commission on Integrity in Government.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sovern, Michael

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein Biographien & Autobiographien: Historisch, Politisch, Militärisch
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Universitäten, Wissenschaftliche Akademien, Gelehrtengesellschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of IllustrationsForeword by Walter F. MondaleForeword by Lee C. Bollinger1. A Shared Story2. Riot3. Rebuilding4. Aftermath5. Condoms and Wrinkle Cream6. Becoming a Dean7. Litigating: Tuskegee and the Supreme Court8. Provost9. Building an Administration10. Beginnings11. Columbia College12. Columbia Law School13. Minnesota14. Coming Home15. Publishing and Moonlighting16. Climbing Out of a Hole17. Ceremonies18. Doing the Right Thing: Coeducation, Charter Revision, and Columbia Football19. The Pulitzer Prizes20. Reagan Versus Mondale21. Disappointing My Peers: Divestiture and Earmarks22. City Corruption and Columbia Unrest23. A Sabbatical Leave and a Return to Celebrations24. Remembering Malcolm X and Working with the Community25. International Guests, Anniversaries, Dedications, and a New Campaign26. Closing a School27. Salman Rushdie at Risk28. Hail and Farewell29. The Last Year30. A Backward Glance31. There Is Life After a Presidency32. Shubert a Great Gig33. Almost a Justice34. Sotheby's35. America's Challenge36. What Next?AcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

Leseproben

Read an excerpt from An Improbable Life:

Über Autor(innen)

Michael I. Sovern is president emeritus of Columbia University and the Chancellor Kent Professor of Law at Columbia Law School.