After two years as a newspaper reporter in Sacramento, California, and five years as a line officer during World War II in the U.S. Navy, Edwin D. Duryea turned his career in the direction of higher education, receiving his doctorate at Stanford University. In the years that followed, he held administrative and faculty positions at the University of Toledo, Oregon State University, Syracuse University, and finally, at the University at Buffalo/SUNY. As Professor in the Department of Higher Education at Buffalo, he attained a wide reputation in the area of his specialization, especially in the history of college and university governing boards.

• Series Editor's Preface Foreword Preface 1. Prologue 2. Medieval Origins Precedents from Roman Law The University at Paris The Medieval Corporation Formation of the Universities in England 3. English Antecedents Primacy of the State Royal Jurisdiction The Colleges English Law of Corporations Transition to American Colonies 4. American Adaptations Influence of the English Corporations Reformation Influences European Precedents Conclusion 5. Governance of the Colonial Colleges Harvard William and Mary Yale Other Colonial Colleges 6. Corporate Autonomy: The Dartmouth College Case Antecedents to the Case The Corporate Context for the Decision Legal Decisions Prior to the Dartmouth Case The Case Implications of the Decision 7. Foundation of an American System Modification of the Dartmouth Decision Expansion of Public Higher Education State Foundations as Public Corporations 8. Governing Board Authority in Practice The Control of Educational Programs Faculty Relations The Oversight of Students Requirements for Educational Achievement Financial Management 9. Conclusion: From Past to Future The Past Developments Since the 1950s A Look to the Future Bibliography Appendix 1: Cases for Chapters Seven and Eight Appendix 2: Founding Documents Index