The fourth Glion Colloquium, held in June 2003, brought together university leaders of major higher education institutions or organizations, along with guests from industry, to compare perspectives on the future of the research university in America and Europe.

The papers contained in this book reflect both the consensus and differences in the perspectives of the participants on these issues. In Part I, papers by Frank Rhodes, Robert Zemsky and James Duderstadt, Luc Weber and Pavel Zgaga, as well as Howard Newby, set the stage. In Part II, Roger Downer, James Duderstadt, and Frans van Vught discuss the changing nature of education and scholarship. Part III continues with papers by Robert Zemsky, André Oosterlink, Nils Hasselmo, Marcel Crochet, and Wayne Johnson on the changing interaction between the research university and broader society. In Part IV, Luc Weber, Marye Anne Fox, Frank Rhodes, and Marcel Crochet discuss the challenges of financing and governing the contemporary research university. In the concluding chapter the editors endeavour to develop more specific suggestions concerning the issues and strategies that universities should consider as they approach a period of rapid change.