Joseph L. DeVitis is a prolific scholar and public intellectual in social foundations of education and higher education. Two of his books have earned Choice Awards from the American Library Association and four others have won Critics Choice Awards from the American Educational Studies Association as outstanding books of the year.

Joseph L. DeVitis: Introduction - Jonathan M. Brand: Foundational Truths about Higher Education - Steven C. Bahls: Liberal Arts Colleges: Building Capacity to Thrive - Brian Rosenberg: The Future of the Liberal Arts College, or How to Keep Smiling on the Edge of the Crevasse - Timothy L. Hall: Making College Better-For Whom? - Elizabeth (Beth) J. Stroble: Rethinking Fit, Choosing to Include, and Educating World Changers - J. Randall O'Brien: The Soul of a Christian University - Paul C. Pribbenow: From Either/Or to Both/And: The Journey of a Lutheran College to Interfaith Living - Patricia McGuire: A Case Study: Transforming a Catholic Women's College - Carine M. Feyten: Learning to Thrive: A Perspective from Texas Woman's-A Large Public University - Beverly Warren: Making College Better Through a Reimagined Undergraduate Research Focus - Sandra J. Jordan: Public Comprehensive Universities: The People's University at a Crossroads - Elsa M. Núñez: The Role of Public Regional Universities in the 21st Century - James A. Anderson: How Transformational Change Can Prepare HBCUs and MSIs to Be Competitive in the 21st Century - Kevin D. Rome: Energizing Higher Education in Tough Times: A Historically Black College President's Perspective - Edward E. Raspiller: Making Community Colleges Better - Contributors.