This introductory chapter traces the transformation of higher education research (HER) over the past four decades since Burton Clark’s seminal work. It situates the expansion of higher education within global enrolment growth, knowledge-based economic models, and the emergence of a glonacal framework shaped by internationalisation and research collaboration. It highlights the flourishing of HER, marked by rising scholarly output, diversification of perspectives, and the growing participation of the Global South. It argues that while HER initially emerged as a site where disciplinary scholars applied their own theories and methods, it has since developed into a more autonomous and mature field. Today, HER not only draws upon insights from multiple disciplines but also contributes original concepts, methodological innovations, and epistemic frameworks. This reciprocal relationship reflects a shift from HER as a peripheral research site to an interdisciplinary nexus with its own scholarly identity. Advances in data science, bibliometrics, and computational methods have further consolidated this intellectual infrastructure. The volume illustrates how HER now balances disciplinary inheritance with independent theorising, offering a more inclusive, global, and epistemically diverse approach to understanding higher education’s societal role.