Gary D. Russi began his career teaching at Drake University and later became vice president. He then served as vice president and president of Oakland University from 1996-2013, transforming it from a comprehensive to a doctoral research university. The Carnegie Foundation established classifications for colleges and universities in 1973 to facilitate comparisons. It recognizes six basic classifications that are further divided based on factors like degrees granted and research activity. In 2014, Indiana University took over maintaining the Carnegie Classification system.

2.  Gary D. Russi began his career in education
teaching pharmacology and toxicology as an
assistant professor at Drake University in 1972.
After more than 20 years at Drake, during
which time he rose to the position of vice
president for research and strategic planning,
he joined the administration of Michigan’s
Oakland University as vice president for
academic affairs. Gary D. Russi became
president of the university in 1996, a position he
held until 2013, and spearheaded the school’s
transformation from a comprehensive university
to a doctoral research university.

3.  With more than 4,600 degree-granting colleges
and universities in the United States, it’s difficult
to make meaningful comparisons among them
without classifying them first according to some
objective criteria. This helps prospective
students; for instance, some prefer to attend a
major research university that grants numerous
advanced degrees; others may prefer schools
more devoted to undergraduate education.
Classifying schools also helps the schools
themselves in several ways. For example,
whether hiring faculty or administrative staff, it’s
useful for a school to know the scope of a
candidate’s experience.

4.  To facilitate the comparison of the various types of
colleges and universities, the Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching established the Carnegie
Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in 1973
and has updated it periodically. The Carnegie
Classification recognizes six basic classifications:
- Doctorate-granting universities
- Master’s colleges and universities
- Baccalaureate colleges
- Associate’s colleges
- Special-focus institutions
- Tribal colleges that belong to the American Indian Higher
Education Consortium

5.  Each classification is broken down into
subclassifications, based on the size and nature
of the degree, research activity, and other
variables. Doctorate-granting universities, for
example, award at least 20 doctorates
annually and are divided into three groups,
determined by the level of research activity.
The master’s colleges and universities grant
fewer than 20 doctorates annually and are
divided into three groups according to the
number of master’s degrees they award.

6.  The Carnegie Foundation transferred
responsibility for maintenance of the
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of
Higher Education to the Indiana
University School of Education’s Center
for Post-Secondary Research in the fall of
2014.