Toward the Pecking Order: The Origins of Formal Stratification in American Higher Education, 1890–1925

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Historicizing Postsecondary Education Policy and Reform

Abstract

This historical study examines the origins of the rationales and strategies behind the formal stratification of US higher education, most famously exemplified in the 1960 California Master Plan. It finds precedents for such a system in both the public and private sectors of higher education in the early 20th century, mediated by policy elites in government, philanthropic foundations, and prestigious universities. While many of their efforts fell short, these reformers established an enduring vision for separate and unequal postsecondary institutions.

Author

• Ethan W Ris, University of Nevada - Reno