James L. Morrison (PhD, Florida State University, 1969) served as an assistant professor of education and sociology at the Pennsylvania State University from 1969-1973, at which time he moved to UNC-Chapel Hill, where he taught courses in research, planning, management, and using technology in educational organisations. He is now professor emeritus at UNC-CH.
Morrison served as AERA Division J vice president, chair of the editorial board of The Review of Higher Education, consulting editor for The Review of Educational Research and The American Educational Research Journal, and founding editor of On the Horizon, The Technology Source, and Innovate. In addition, he is author and co-author of over 200 publications focusing on educational planning and on using information technology tools in educational organizations.
Morrison received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Educational Research Association's Special Interest Group on Strategic Change at the 1999 annual meeting.
Speculations on The Future of Higher Education
Higher education is in the midst of a major transition that will fundamentally change the way colleges and universities conduct their business in the coming decades. Although change in social institutions is seldom rapid, the combined forces of demography, globalization, economic restructuring, and information technology are forcing institutions to reconceptualize their markets, organizational structures, and pedagogical practices. Professor Morrison describes these forces, projects how colleges and universities may have evolved by 2020, and outlines pertinent issues facing higher education in light of these potential developments.