Witty and insightful, How Universities Work is destined to be an essential handbook for anyone wanting to understand universities in the United States. John V. Lombardi gives readers an insider's view of the academy, describing the structure, logic, dynamics, and operational styles of both public and private institutions of higher education.

Lombardi defines and describes all the bits and pieces that compose a university with remarkable economy--from budgeting systems to tenure, from the library to the athletic field. Although focused on research universities, much of the...