In an era of declining resources, higher education institutions are marshalling efforts to respond and remain sustainable. For small private college and universities with non-selective admissions criteria and limited resources, this is a particularly challenging period. The relationships between faculty and administrators play a key role in how the institution responds. An exploration of organizational behavior and culture provides insight into nuances of those relationships. The purpose of this dissertation is to better understand organizational behavior at small, private under resourced colleges and universities through the exploration of organizational trust and the relationship between faculty and administrators. I consider how groups within higher education manage the multiple demands on colleges and universities. Using a qualitative case study, including individual interviews with faculty and administrators at a single institution, I consider the grammars of trust, based on work by Tierney (2006). I employ these grammars as an indicator of the presence of trust on a campus and its role in organizational behavior. Document analysis and observations are used to supplement the interview questions and frame themes of trust to answer the following: (1) How does trust manifest itself in a resource challenged environment at a small institution? (2) How do faculty members perceive trust as it relates to their work within the university and with administrators? (3) How does trust between faculty and administrators contribute to institutional sustainability? Trust is not the panacea of institutional sustainability, but is a major force in organizational culture to facilitate collaboration and cooperation. To build and maintain trust, transparency in decision making and perceived competence of the administration is key. Transparency includes discussion and input, sharing of information, and explanations of the rationale for the decision made. Perceived competence is developed through measures of performance, communication and transparency, and accountability. Administrators have a very important role in fostering trust through actions and decisions on a college campus while faculty can build or hinder trust in their responsiveness to campus concerns, seeking sound decisions in a timely fashion. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]