This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the publication of Laurence R. Veysey's The Emergence of the American University. Hailed by Frederick Rudolph at the time of its release as a “major contribution … tough-minded … [and] brilliant.” Veysey's work is still widely read, taught, and cited. Every scholar who wrestles with the historical development of the modern American university must at some point come to terms with the institution as Veysey so brashly conceived of it. All disciplinary subfields have their founding text—a singular work that defines an entire intellectual discourse and lays out the “rules of the game” for all those who follow. For historians interested in tracking the organization, production, and consumption of knowledge in the United States, The Emergence of the American University is and remains that text.