Here are 99 books that The University fans have personally recommended if you like The University. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Chairing the Academic Department: Leadership Among Peers

Mark William Roche Author Of Realizing the Distinctive University: Vision and Values, Strategy and Culture

From my list on faculty who find themselves in administration.

Why am I passionate about this?

The year after I got tenure, I became a chairperson, overseeing more than twenty faculty members in my department at Ohio State University. I continued in administration for the next seventeen years, serving as a dean at Notre Dame for more then a decade. I am convinced that the best books on higher education interweave ideas, anecdotes, and data. I pursued that genre here, engaging the questions, what makes a university distinctive and how can one best flourish as an administrator.

Mark's book list on faculty who find themselves in administration

Mark William Roche Why Mark loves this book

When I became a chairperson at Ohio State the year after I received tenure, I found this book on my desk, a gift from the provost, presumably sent to all new chairpersons.

The book had a good bit of practical advice on a wide range of subjects, and I have held on to my copy, even though I have long since moved on to other positions. The chapter on “Faculty Evaluation” was particularly helpful to me when for the first time I had to evaluate colleagues and recommend salary adjustments.

By Allan Tucker ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Chairing the Academic Department as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Third edition of a handbook for the academic administrator promoted from the faculty ranks with little administrative skill or know-how. Provides an depth examination of the typical duties and responsibilities of a department chair that covers an awful lot of ground: from curriculum management to co


If you love The University...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of The Academic Deanship: Individual Careers and Institutional Roles

Mark William Roche Author Of Realizing the Distinctive University: Vision and Values, Strategy and Culture

From my list on faculty who find themselves in administration.

Why am I passionate about this?

The year after I got tenure, I became a chairperson, overseeing more than twenty faculty members in my department at Ohio State University. I continued in administration for the next seventeen years, serving as a dean at Notre Dame for more then a decade. I am convinced that the best books on higher education interweave ideas, anecdotes, and data. I pursued that genre here, engaging the questions, what makes a university distinctive and how can one best flourish as an administrator.

Mark's book list on faculty who find themselves in administration

Mark William Roche Why Mark loves this book

When I became a dean, I bought a few books on being a dean, and for some time, even after my term ended, continued to follow the literature.

Most such advice is commonsensical, but one needs to be reminded of common sense. The Academic Deanship offers a thoughtful and often wise account of the broader responsibilities and daily work of deans. Chairpersons, who work closely with deans, might also benefit from its perspectives.

By David F. Bright , Mary P. Richards ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Academic Deanship as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A deanship is now seen as more of a phase in an overall academic career than as a permanent shift from teaching to administration. In fact, the nature of the job itself has changed, as has the range of likely options at the end of a dean's tenure. This book serves as a guide for the aspiring or new dean, offering practical advice on how to approach the interview process and the new job, as well as providing a thoughtful assessment of the deanship in its wider context. The authors-both experienced academic deans at a variety of institutions-encourage the new…


Book cover of Presidential Leadership: Making a Difference

Mark William Roche Author Of Realizing the Distinctive University: Vision and Values, Strategy and Culture

From my list on faculty who find themselves in administration.

Why am I passionate about this?

The year after I got tenure, I became a chairperson, overseeing more than twenty faculty members in my department at Ohio State University. I continued in administration for the next seventeen years, serving as a dean at Notre Dame for more then a decade. I am convinced that the best books on higher education interweave ideas, anecdotes, and data. I pursued that genre here, engaging the questions, what makes a university distinctive and how can one best flourish as an administrator.

Mark's book list on faculty who find themselves in administration

Mark William Roche Why Mark loves this book

When I became a dean in 1997, much of my serious reading moved from my discipline to higher education.

It made sense to me that the differences between chairperson, dean, provost, and president had more to do with demands on one’s time than the kind of work one needs to do, and indeed, I learned much from this book, which makes the case for strong and charismatic leadership.

While it is among the most compelling books on presidential leadership and its possible impact on a campus, much of the advice is transferable to persons in less senior positions.

By James L. Fisher , James V. Koch ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Presidential Leadership as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Koch and Fisher have updated and expanded the latter's highly respected 1984 book, Power of the Presidency. In Presidential Leadership, the authors explore the transformational style of leadership in greater depth. This theory is based on a strong, charismatic university president who leads and transforms the university through the power of his or her own vision for the future. The provocative arguments offered throughout the book are based both on empirical studies and on the authors' personal experiences as university presidents. Chapters on total quality management, presidential spouses, and fund raising are new to this edition, as are 11 appendixes…


If you love Henry Rosovsky...

Ad

Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of Successful Fund Raising for Higher Education: The Advancement of Learning

Mark William Roche Author Of Realizing the Distinctive University: Vision and Values, Strategy and Culture

From my list on faculty who find themselves in administration.

Why am I passionate about this?

The year after I got tenure, I became a chairperson, overseeing more than twenty faculty members in my department at Ohio State University. I continued in administration for the next seventeen years, serving as a dean at Notre Dame for more then a decade. I am convinced that the best books on higher education interweave ideas, anecdotes, and data. I pursued that genre here, engaging the questions, what makes a university distinctive and how can one best flourish as an administrator.

Mark's book list on faculty who find themselves in administration

Mark William Roche Why Mark loves this book

When you enter higher administration, you need a vision and you need the people and resources to realize that vision.

Most books for chairpersons and deans are about vision and about hiring and mentoring faculty and staff, but how to garner resources is perhaps the area that is addressed the least. I found this book helpful as an initial guide.

Basically, it offers a comprehensive account of academic fundraising, with practical advice and detailed examples from academic leaders and senior development professionals. The introduction and first two chapters provide a superb introduction for persons new to academic fundraising.

By Frank H.T. Rhodes (editor) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Successful Fund Raising for Higher Education as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Successful Fund Raising is a compilation of essays by university presidents and chief advancement officers who share their fundraising successes and demonstrate the importance of a team effort among the campus chief executive officer, the trustees, and the senior staff officer in charge of the advancement program. The authors discuss how the advancement function is integrated into an institution's ongoing planning process, as well as the respective roles and responsibilities of key players in this process. The contributing authors also share specific information about their advancement programs, including their goals, strategies, and tactics. The successful programs covered in this book…


Book cover of Girls with Bright Futures

Rebecca Prenevost Author Of Starting in 5th

From my list on fiction portraying realistic parenting dilemmas.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a mom of two daughters who is fascinated with reading nonfiction parenting books and listening to parenting-related podcasts. My absolute favorite, though, is when fiction authors take a dense parenting topic and turn it into a relatable and engaging story so that readers can explore the same important issues and challenges in a more enjoyable way.

Rebecca's book list on fiction portraying realistic parenting dilemmas

Rebecca Prenevost Why Rebecca loves this book

This novel is a chilling depiction of the cut-throat world of elite college admissions for families attending an ultra-competitive private school. It’s another great example of taking concepts I’ve seen in nonfiction parenting books (helicopter parenting and over-pressuring kids) and playing them out in a fictional way. The details on the parents’ backstories, and how they affected their thought processes, allowed clear comparisons and contrasts to their situations, values, and beliefs and helped me see why I may want to handle certain situations differently.

By Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Girls with Bright Futures as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"For those who couldn't stop reading about Lori Loughlin and Operation Varsity Blues, this suspenseful thriller about the lines moms are willing to cross to get their kids into college is for you."-Refinery29
"Book Club Winner."-Real Simple, Book Club Selection
"A thriller for the post-college-admission-scandal age."-PopSugar
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by Parade Magazine, Newsweek, POPSUGAR, Refinery29, Brit + Co, and more!
Three women, three daughters, and a promise that they'll each get what they deserve...
College admissions season at Seattle's Elliott Bay Academy is marked by glowing acceptances from top-tier institutions and students as impressive as their…


Book cover of Admission

Karen D. Arnold Author Of Lives of Promise: What Becomes of High School Valedictorians

From my list on elite education myth busting.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am passionate about talent development and college access. I started my journey as a researcher when I learned that high school valedictorians’ adult success depends in large part on their race, social class, and gender. This work led me to life-long questions. How do we recognize talent and give young people opportunities without requiring their total assimilation into the dominant culture? How do we change our schools and colleges to welcome everyone and to benefit from the viewpoints and voices of all of our students? Answering these questions is imperative for our collective well-being in our changing society and world. 

Karen's book list on elite education myth busting

Karen D. Arnold Why Karen loves this book

I loved this novel, in which a former Princeton admission officer actually made me feel sorry for the staff members who have to choose who gets into the Ivy League!

The protagonist winds up in the kinds of ethical and practical tangles that ensnare would-be do-gooders as we try to “help the disadvantaged.” And it’s a rollicking good read!

By Jean Hanff Korelitz ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Admission as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the New York Times bestselling author of You Should Have Known (adapted as The Undoing on HBO), comes a page-turner about a college admissions officer with a secret—now a major motion picture starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd.

For years, 38-year-old Portia Nathan has avoided the past, hiding behind her busy (and sometimes punishing) career as a Princeton University admissions officer and her dependable domestic life. Her reluctance to confront the truth is suddenly overwhelmed by the resurfacing of a life-altering decision, and Portia is faced with an extraordinary test. Just as thousands of the nation's brightest students await…


If you love The University...

Ad

Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of The Culture of Classicism: Ancient Greece and Rome in American Intellectual Life, 1780-1910

Dean Hammer Author Of Rome and America: Communities of Strangers, Spectacles of Belonging

From my list on the connection of ancient Rome to an American identity.

Why am I passionate about this?

My fascination with the relationship between Rome and America grows out of the work I have done on early American culture, contemporary political thought, and ancient Rome. My most recent work, Rome and America: Communities of Strangers, Spectacles of Belonging, took shape through a lot of conversations over the years with friends and colleagues about the different tensions I saw in Roman politics and culture around questions of national identity, tensions that I saw being played out in the United States. I don’t like tidy histories. I am drawn to explorations of politics and culture that reveal the anxieties and dissonance that derive from our own attempt to resolve our incompleteness. 

Dean's book list on the connection of ancient Rome to an American identity

Dean Hammer Why Dean loves this book

Winterer provides the classic discussion of the place of Rome (and then Greece) in early American education and intellectual life. The book is about how American classicists sought to shape a relationship to the classical past that persists to this day, creating a canon of ancient texts as a reaction against and refuge from modernity. The real payoff of this book for me lies in showing how the past is never just the past but a continuing aspect of our own identity-formation.

By Caroline Winterer ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Culture of Classicism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Debates continue to rage over whether American university students should be required to master a common core of knowledge. In The Culture of Classicism: Ancient Greece and Rome in American Intellectual Life, 1780-1910, Caroline Winterer traces the emergence of the classical model that became standard in the American curriculum in the nineteenth century and now lies at the core of contemporary controversies. By closely examining university curricula and the writings of classical scholars, Winterer demonstrates how classics was transformed from a narrow, language-based subject to a broader study of civilization, persuasively arguing that we cannot understand both the rise of…


Book cover of Get That Job!

Tory S. Thorkelson Author Of The Job Interview Workbook: A Workbook for College Students and Jobhunters

From my list on helping you land a good job after university.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an EFL Professor for over 20 years, I have evolved from a language teacher into a generalist who is constantly asked to teach skills-based courses that help my college students learn life skills like presenting or job skills. As the old saying goes, you need to become somewhat of an expert in something to teach it well so I have become a much more proficient interviewer and job skills expert through 10+ years teaching students to excel in these areas. My book is a compilation of the best worksheets and activities compiled and created for my students and I hope others find them as useful and effective as my students have. 

Tory's book list on helping you land a good job after university

Tory S. Thorkelson Why Tory loves this book

This workbook offers a quick and easy guide to help you understand your strengths and sell them effectively to an employer.

It covers all the tools of a job search: resumes, cover letters, networking, and more. It gives invaluable tips on job applications and how to effectively interview. It also covers how to negotiate about pay and working conditions- and when not to through easy-to-use worksheets.

However, it is somewhat outdated so it will not take to the next level that a 21st-century worker might need to succeed.

By Jurg Oppliger ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Get That Job! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of Admission

Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman Author Of Girls with Bright Futures

From my list on college admissions mania.

Why are we passionate about this?

When each of our older boys were in the midst of the college admissions process, our husbands suffered life-threatening health crises. It was such a bizarre coincidence that we both experienced intense brushes with mortality during this time of high anxiety. The juxtaposition between health and college admissions gave us a unique perspective and led us to explore the impacts of college admissions anxiety on families, friendships, students, and school communities. We had entirely plotted Girls With Bright Futures and were nearly through the first draft when the Operation Varsity Blues college admissions scandal broke in March 2019. We felt like the headlines had been ripped from our manuscript!

Tracy's book list on college admissions mania

Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman Why Tracy loves this book

This is an engrossing novel with big ripped-from-the-headlines vibes. Told from the point of view of high school senior Chloe Berringer, whose Lori Loughlin-like actress mother becomes ensnared in a college admissions scandal, Buxbaum’s story expertly imagines the impact of such a scandal might have on a young college applicant and her family. Using a Now/Then format, Buxbaum’s juicy and compelling story provides a many-layered and fascinating peek under the veil of one family’s secrets and lies in the name of Operation-Varsity-Blues-style ambition. And although Admission was originally classified as a Young Adult novel, we feel confident recommending it to adults as well. In fact, it would make for an excellent mother-daughter “buddy read!”

By Julie Buxbaum ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Admission as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Lie. Cheat. Bribe. How far would you go to get into your dream school? How far would your parents go? Inspired by the recent college admissions scandal, this ripped-from-the-headlines YA novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things sees one teenage girl's privileged world shatter when her family's lies are exposed.

It's good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer--she has it all--money, privilege, and a ticket to the college of her dreams. Or at least she did until the FBI came knocking on her front door, guns at the ready, and her future went up in…


If you love Henry Rosovsky...

Ad

Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Jesse

Lisa Rowe Fraustino Author Of I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony 1691 (Dear America Series)

From my list on historical fiction for tweens and teens.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an avid young White female reader of everything from cereal boxes to any book I could get my hands on, historical fiction was my favorite genre from an early age. I still love experiencing a different time and place vicariously through the eyes of protagonists different from myself. Both an author and a scholar, I’ve taught children’s and young adult literature for three decades and currently direct the Graduate Programs in Children’s Literature at Hollins University. My once contemporary PhD dissertation, Ash: A Novel (Orchard Books, 1995), has become historical fiction of sorts, due to the passage of time.

Lisa's book list on historical fiction for tweens and teens

Lisa Rowe Fraustino Why Lisa loves this book

In 2014, I was on the Phoenix Award Committee of the Children’s Literature Association, given to a book published twenty years prior that didn’t get a major award when it first came out. We decided to give the Phoenix to Jesse, published in 1994 by Gary Soto, about a seventeen-year-old who works in the fields with his brother while putting himself through junior college. I love the book for all the reasons in the committee’s description: "Jesse is both a coming-of-age story of one Mexican-American boy with a poetic sensibility and the story of a community and a country at a difficult time—facing poverty and prejudice and war, problems we are still facing today. Jesse offers an unembellished slice of life in Vietnam-era Fresno, California.” 

By Gary Soto ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Jesse as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

In this new edition of his first young adult novel, Gary Soto paints a moving portrait of seventeen-year-old Jesse, who has left his parents' home to live with his older brother. These Mexican American brothers hope junior college will help them escape their heritage of tedious physical labor. Their struggles are humorous, true to life, and deeply affecting. Young adults will sympathize with the brothers as they come to terms with what is possible for each of them in an imperfect world.
    
Includes a reader's guide.


Book cover of Chairing the Academic Department: Leadership Among Peers
Book cover of The Academic Deanship: Individual Careers and Institutional Roles
Book cover of Presidential Leadership: Making a Difference

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,210

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in university, Ohio, and presidential biography?

University 41 books
Ohio 81 books