This paper focuses on assessing possible levers in the hands of a university's top management team for inducing or managing change when faced with environmental drives. The topic is discussed after analysing change in a university over a 20-year period. The case study underlines the opportunities and difficulties of linking external environmental drives and change processes, highlighting the lack of a universal path and proposing elements that are worthy of attention. The paper underlines the need for top management teams in universities to pay particular attention to the systemic and balanced aspects of the factors determining change. (Contains 1 table and 1 note.)