This paper analyses changes in university management structures and practices as a response to public sector reforms in Ugandan higher education using Makerere University as a case study. The study uses the organisational learning theory and a review of the higher education literature. Two adaptive responses in the management structures and practices emerge from the empirical discussion based on an analysis of documents. These responses illustrate strategies to fuel innovation and recent strategies to restore stability at the case study university. (Contains 2 tables.)