The Land-Grant (Paperback)

B. J. Edwards' controversial and scathing satire of higher education, The Land-Grant, recounts the comical adventures of Dr. Hulden Harrison, a mildly neurotic and helplessly cynical professor of electrical engineering at a large, public, state university, as he battles the institutional bureaucracy, the Athletic Department, unscrupulous colleagues, and, ultimately, himself. His busy academic life suits him well, until he stumbles into the low-level administrative position of Associate Department Head, initiating a rapidly accelerating downward spiral of cynicism as he becomes embroiled in one mind-numbing task after another. Ultimately, he winds up chairing a committee charged with the construction of a new science and engineering building, which ultimately results in his stumbling onto a mystery involving an alleged misappropriation funds, pointing in the direction of the upper echelons of university administration. The Land-Grant is a crash-course in university life, as seen through the eyes of an idealistic dreamer turned chronic cynic by ten years of university hypocrisy. If you have ever wanted to know what really goes on behind the noble facade at a major, land-grant university, this is the book to read. It will leave you laughing... and crying.