Book excerpt: The roles that corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business support of democracy play in American higher education are infrequently discussed, though very important. There are many ethical issues that concern both corporate interests as well as higher education, linking the two more than many would think. It is necessary to understand the environment, inter-organizational relationships, and documents holistically to observe the rich history, pluralistic American societal issues, and relevant milestones between corporate America and higher education. Partnership Motives and Ethics in Corporate Investment in Higher Education provides comprehensive documentation of business and corporate entanglements with higher education. This work discusses the historic journey of funding from business and U.S. corporate engagement in American higher education. Covering topics such as academy-business relationships, philanthropic partnerships, and transactional partnerships, this work is essential for professors, executives, managers, faculty, fundraisers, leaders in higher education, researchers, students, and academicians with interests in CSR, business ethics, and higher education.