Review of Invent Ed: How an American Tradition of Innovation Can Transform College Today, by Caroline F. Levander

Authors

  • Denice Lingen Utah State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/er.v33.4659

Abstract

Invent Ed offers a provocative look at the role of the arts and humanities in innovative thinking, and their place within the structure of higher education today. In her work, Levander utilizes a historical perspective to make the claim that the integration of multiple disciplines is necessary, and yet lacking, within our modern educational system. Her argument is compelling, given the history she presents, current public consternation about the value proposition of higher education, and the recent impact of AI in industry and education. 

Author Biography

Denice Lingen, Utah State University

Denice Lingen is the Dean of General Studies and the former program chair of mathematics at Ensign College in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is also a PhD candidate at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, studying education, with a specialization in curriculum and instruction, and a concentration in mathematics education and leadership. Her research interests include teaching, learning, and student performance in mathematics courses at postsecondary institutions; online teaching and learning; the role of gender, race, socioeconomic status, and other environmental factors in mathematics learning; and the role of General Education in today’s institutions. In her role as Dean of General Studies, Sister Lingen is responsible for implementing strategic initiatives, supporting and hiring full-time and adjunct faculty, and overseeing operational needs within General Education and Professional Services areas.

References

Bear, A., & Skorton, D. (2019). The world needs students with interdisciplinary education. Issues in Science and Technology, 35(2), 60–62. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26948993

Christensen, C. M. & Eyring, H. J. (2011). The innovative university: Changing the DNA of higher education from the inside out. Jossey-Bass.

Epstein, D. (2019). Range: Why generalists triumph in a specialized world. Riverhead Books.

Fischer, K. (2026). Why the case for college isn’t cutting it. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 72(16), 12-18. https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-the-case-for-college-isnt-cutting-it

Skorton, D. (2019). Branches from the same tree. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(6), 1865–1869. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807201115

Snow, C. P. (1959, May 7). The two cultures [public lecture]. The Rede Lecture, Senate House, Cambridge University. Cambridge University Press. https://apps.weber.edu/wsuimages/michaelwutz/6510.Trio/Rede-lecture-2-cultures.pdf

[Book reviewed] Levander, C. F. (2025). Invent ed: How an American tradition of innovation can transform college today. The MIT Press.

Downloads

Published

2026-08-12

How to Cite

Lingen, D. (2026). Review of Invent Ed: How an American Tradition of Innovation Can Transform College Today, by Caroline F. Levander. Education Review, 33. https://doi.org/10.14507/er.v33.4659

Issue

Vol. 33 (2026)

Section

Book reviews

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Denice Lingen

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to the Education Review. Readers are free to copy, display, distribute, and adapt this article, as long as the work is attributed to the author(s) and Education Review, the changes are identified, and the same license applies to the derivative work. 

All journal content from 1998-2020 and was published under an earlier Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0