Includes bibliographical references (pages [393]-428) and index.

Framework and road map -- I: Where we have been and where we are now -- An equity and excellence time line -- In pursuit of excellence -- Equity on a national level: socioeconomic status and race -- The "elite" schools: engines of opportunity or bastions of privilege? -- II: Where we want to go: policy issues -- Race in American higher education: the future of affirmative action -- Broadening the quest for equity at the institutional level: socioeconomic status, admissions preferences, and financial aid -- Government support of higher education -- Improving college preparedness -- Concluding thoughts.

"Thomas Jefferson once stated that the foremost goal of American education must be to nurture the "natural aristocracy of talent and virtue." Although in many ways American higher education has fulfilled Jefferson's vision by achieving a widespread level of excellence, it has not achieved the objective of equity implicit in Jefferson's statement. In Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education, William G. Bowen, Martin A. Kurzweil, and Eugene M. Tobin explore the cause for this divide. Employing historical research, examination of the most recent social science and public policy scholarship, international comparisons, and detailed empirical analysis of rich new data, the authors study the intersection between "excellence" and "equity" objectives."