In 1988 when Higher Education in Partnership with Industry was published by Jossey-Bass (now part of Wiley), university-business partnerships were moving well beyond land grant campuses to varied college and university settings. This was among the first book-length works on the subject. Currently, academe is being redefined against its will by world-wide recession and efforts in the political sphere to balance budgets rather than invest in education and research. Disruptive technologies and a shift to an information management-based economy have emerged at a time of deep cuts in state funding...

In making major budget cuts at colleges and universities because of the world-wide recession, legislators and board members with business experience may not understand how to change campus programs wisely. Avoiding wrong decisions and long-term, unanticipated consequences requires structured, broad-based input and buy-in by affected constituencies. Especially when major reductions in programs are required, extensive participation in decisions to bring about needed changes must be sought by administrators to help all parties to adjust to new realities and bring their best thinking to bear in...