This dissertation explores the nature, applicability and usefulness of social contract theory, and the resulting compact between higher education and society as a way to understand the growth and development of higher education in the United States. The goal is accomplished with an in-depth look at two different universities in the state of Minnesota at four different periods or pivotal points in the history of higher education in the United States. The underlying assumption was that if there is a social compact between higher education and society, traces of its existence would be found in the historical evidence concerning the relationship of these two institutions to society at distinct points in time. The study reaffirms the idea that the social compact between higher education and society is a shared reality, constructed and reconstructed each time that expectations of either party change - it is a social construct. As such, it is always changing and reforming as colleges and universities balance demands from the public and services they provide. The nature of the compact has changed as the nature of Higher Education has changed.

From 1950-1980, women's intercollegiate athletic programs experienced exponential growth, with newspapers rarely detailing the journey until Title IX passed in 1972. This project examined how women's athletics developed at North Dakota State University, the University of North Dakota, and Minnesota State University Moorhead, as well as the correlating press coverage. Articles from two regional newspapers and three student newspapers from 1950-1980 illustrated the coverage women's athletics received, while women integrally involved in the three athletic programs from 1950-1980 supplemented the coverage and further explained the development. This thesis proposes a cohesive narrative of the press coverage associated with the development of three women's intercollegiate athletic programs in the Midwest from 1950-1980. The project also speculates on the reasons why different newspapers covered women's athletics in the area differently and why 1975 emerged as a watershed year for women's athletics at NDSU, UND, and MSUM.