Factors related to shifts in governance patterns of church-related private colleges were investigated through historical document analysis, interviews with 34 presidents and board members, and 59 questionnaires returned by current and past board members of 2 New Mexico institutions. Document analysis focused upon mission statements, annual reports, catalogs, press releases, newspaper articles, alumni bulletins, school newspapers, and faculty council minutes. Attention was directed to shifts in governance patterns over the past three decades (late 1940s through December 1981) for two southwestern colleges, both related to the Roman Catholic Church and operated as coeducational, 4-year undergraduate institutions. Since the 1960s, board composition of the two institutions shifted from absolute religious domination toward a shared religious/law membership. In addition, the size of the boards increased to accommodate the demands for lay representation. The composition of the boards at both colleges reveals dramatic changes in the number of trustees, in the proportion of religious to lay members, and by the addition of students and alumni. Four major factors were involved in the shifting governance patterns: ownership, funding sources, value structures, and politics. The findings suggest that transitions in governance and control in a church-related college are influenced primarily by shifts in value orientations, while the formation of responses to these shifts is primarily a political process, dependent upon the ownership of and sources of funding for the institution. Additional theoretical propositions regarding governance patterns and recommendations for policy development are proposed. A bibliography is appended. (SW)