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Colleges and universities have evolved from man's efforts to comprehend and to control his environment and himself. Over the long stretches of prehistory and history these efforts begat the medicine man and shamans of primitive peoples, the magi and priests of early civilizations, the sophists and philosophers of the Greek city-states. In all eras such men have been the guardians and critics of the knowledge and values of their societies and also the teachers of promising youths. When they formed associations the precursors of present-day colleges and universities emerged. Historians and educationists often characterize the antece dents of today's higher educational institutions as aristocratic; but in the sense that most people understand aristocracy, the judgment has little validity. Not until the nineteenth century did the colleges and universities of the world—Oxford an