The urban university must provide limited public service related to teaching and research with a special emphasis on the urban environment of which it is a part. It need not become a social service agency but must prove its seriousness to itself and the larger community in which it resides. (MLW)

The complaint that memoirs of college and university life are impressionistic and biased and thus poorly suited for a research project is refuted. Memoirs can shape and supplement research questions and can remind and commit academe to the idea of the beloved campus. (MLW)

A review of models of group and organization life cycle development is provided and the applicability of those models for institutions of higher education are discussed. An understanding of the problems and characteristics present in different life cycle stages can help institutions manage transitions more effectively. (Author/MLW)

Prevailing motivation theories from organizational behavior are outlined. Guidelines from current theories are pushed to the limit when outcome curves are examined in their extremities. Traditional reward systems are shown to have many practical limitations. Altruism as a theory is considered to explain organizationally-oriented rather than…

Four contingency theories of leadership are explored and contrasted. Predictions of leader types and leader behaviors that would follow from each are counterposed. External functions of the leader and interactions with organizational members who are not subordinates are discussed. (Author/MLW)

A review and synthesis of contemporary models of decision-making in organizations is presented. The match between preferred decision styles of faculty or academic managers and the structural and situational demands of the organization are considered. (Author/MLW)

The suggestion that universities, because of decentralization and loose coupling, lack strategies is examined. Decision-making at the university is considered, and it is found that because of the ways in which decisions are made--by professional judgment, administrative fiat, and collective choice--a degree of consistency is produced. (Author/MLW)

A study examined the administratively sponsored rituals of academic and student life at a long-established, women's liberal arts college as metaphors for the ways students make meaning from the college experience. It is concluded that rituals can embody institutional mission, explain important educational processes, and shape views of the…

At four colleges, 135 African American women students completed measures of self-concept, gender identity, and ethnic identity, and were interviewed. Results suggest that women's self-concepts of race and gender are experienced differently depending on their school's racial and gender composition. Colleges should reexamine diversity efforts to…

The developing field of institutional advancement is introduced and defined, the role of the administrator is discussed, and research needs and obstacles are examined. Focus is on the role and projects of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. (MSE)

A university president, an academic scholar, and a graduate student in higher education look back at "The Academic Revolution," written in 1968, from differing perspectives. Companion essays examine the predictions made in the book and its use as a platform for discussion about the direction taken by higher education. (MSE)

A study of Massachusetts Institute of Technology student living groups equipped with powerful computer workstations suggests that the intervention enhances rather than degrades the living groups socially, a few residents benefit substantially while most benefit only modestly, and individual benefits fail to offset potential organizational costs.…

A critical look at four conventional beliefs that guide research in higher education is presented. These beliefs concern stakeholders, aims of inquiry, paradigm and modes of inquiry, and inquiry perspectives. Higher education should be a field of study where scholars, administrators and faculty provide the lodestar for inquiry. (Author/MLW)

A study involving interviews with 50 academic leaders revealed that college fund raising is a team effort; the institution's president is typically the central player; presidents should focus fund-raising attention on major gifts and administrative leadership; academic quality and institutional prestige are critical factors; and fund raising is…

This article reviews the work of G. Stanley Hall, who offered the first course on college and university problems in 1893. It describes Hall's education and academic appointments until 1887, the European origins of his study, the founding of Clark University (Massachusetts) and Hall's presidency, the American beginnings of the field of higher…