The way that affirmative action fits into the faculty appointment process at Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley was studied, based on 50 faculty interviews and supporting documentation. Traditions of governance at the universities determined the responses to faculty affirmative action. At Stanford University, affirmative action was promoted by a team of administrators, the president, provost, and vice provost. Most of their methods focused on greater attention to process and on systematization of hiring and promotion procedures. A Faculty Affirmative Action Fund was established to encourage faculty in departments to be entrepreneurial in seeking and attracting candidates; the reward was an extra faculty slot for the department. At Berkeley, the leadership included faculty who were formally named to administrative positions and who inadvertently moved into positions of influence. A new vice chancellor, along with other influential faculty members, helped create programs and policies that supported affirmative action. This leadership style, which was based on the efforts of a relatively small group of people, can be termed "oligarchic." (SW)