<DIV><p>How are we to understand the nature and value of higher education's public purposes, mission, and work in a democratic society? How do-and how should-academic professionals contribute to and participate in civic life in their practices as scholars, scientists, and educators?<BR>     <I> Democracy and Higher Education </I>addresses these questions by combining an examination of several normative traditions of civic engagement in American higher education with the presentation and interpretation of a dozen oral history profiles of contemporary practitioners. In his analysis of these profiles, Scott Peters reveals and interprets a democratic-minded civic professionalism that includes and interweaves expert, social critic, responsive service, and proactive leadership roles. <BR>      <I>Democracy and Higher Education </I>contributes to a new line of research on the critically important task of strengthening and defending higher education's positive roles in and for a democratic society.</p></DIV>