In the process he sets out a vision of the good university as secular and religiously plural, as socially inclusive, and as deeply and productively entangled with the surrounding society. Along the way, he engages with a range of historical examples (the medieval University of Paris, the University of Berlin in the nineteenth century, and John Henry Newman's work in Oxford and Dublin) and with a range of contemporary writers on Higher Education from George Marsden to Stanley Hauerwas and from David Ford to Rowan Williams.

"Mike Higton is to be commended for his effort and the manner in which it will provoke thought. Again, his chapter concerning the role the Anglican pattern of worship plays in the academic life alone makes the book a worthwhile project. The chapters preceding it provide a concise summary of theology's influence over time. The chapters succeeding it provide thoughtful considerations of what the future may hold."--Modern theology

"He [Higton] is clearly one of the ablest theologians of our era, and a book that attempts to engage theologically with higher-education culture in the UK and the United States could not be more welcome or timely. This is a real gem of a book, and full of fresh and incisive theological insight, which opens up a compelling argument about the nature and purpose of higher education."--Church Times