Five college presidents who were previously development officers tell what they have learned about the roles, including the importance of maintaining a vision for the campus; pressure on a college president to succeed in many areas and difficulty of scheduling; and the crucial role of mutual support in the development effort. (MSE)

Principles for the administration and governance of interdisciplinary programs are drawn from several decades of experience in general education and in interdisciplinary centers, colleges, and schools. The principles are discussed in terms of the institutional context and include suggestions for garnering budgetary support, addressing faculty…

Five college and university fund-raising professionals discuss ways in which uncoordinated solicitations of gifts from the same prospective donor(s) by different schools or departments can be avoided by planning, coordination, and communication. Advantages and disadvantages of centralized and decentralized administrative approaches are considered.…

A professional, effective, and efficient college alumni office is the key to linking loyal alumni and campus. A wise alumni administrator will also increase alumni participation through communication, become involved and influential in campus affairs, gain the support of the president, and offer a program valuable to constituents. (MSE)

Lessons learned by the University of Arizona through participation in two major scientific projects, construction of an astronomical observatory and a super cyclotron, are discussed. Four criteria for institutional participation in such projects are outlined, including consistency with institutional mission, adequate resources, leadership, and…

Noting a recent trend in scholarship of using narratives to warn teachers of the possible dangers of un-theorized and uncritical utilization of technology in the writing classroom, this paper offers a story that does not involve students, anonymous messages, or private files that inadvertently become public, but instead concerns a series of…

Some optimistic views about the future are presented, on the presumption that institutions will honestly face their problems and shortcomings and set about the process of self-renewal and self-regulation. Important to this process is a mutual acceptance of responsibility by the president and the advancement professionals. (Author/MSE)

Student activities administrators are offered guidelines for managing others, including being aware of assumptions about working with others; acknowledging that people's views, preferences, and needs do not always coincide with one's own; learning about staff's individual differences and preferences; engaging in dialog; paying attention to…

Ten management problems for chairs of small departments in small colleges are discussed, along with problem-solving strategies for these administrators. Serious disagreements within a small and intimate department may create a country club culture in which differences are smoothed over and the personal idiosyncrasies of individual members are…

Principles of effective research administration originally written over a decade ago are revised to reflect the challenges of a new, technologically advanced, and rapidly changing climate. They now include establishing, communicating, and constantly evaluating the goals of research administration in conjunction with institutional partners;…

Campus activities programmers are offered strategies for coping with overbearing administrators and a hostile work environment, and deciding when to resign, including building a support network within and outside the institution, becoming involved in the local community, drafting a letter of resignation, building personal savings, and choosing…

In serving students, financial aid officers must address issues outside the scope of the financial aid program, including admissions, academic policy, institutional bureaucracy, student consumer education, and pricing. These require policy decisions and resource allocations the financial aid administrator cannot make alone. Cooperation and support…

Information technology services on campuses are in crisis, due to dramatically increased expectations and stable or dwindling funding. The situation can be improved and service effectiveness enhanced by controlling expectations, reducing work, getting help (student volunteers, experiential learning programs, local experts, consultants, faculty and…

The theories of several contemporary management theorists are examined in order to demonstrate that their administrative stance is that of a person-intensive approach to management. After exploring leadership theory and the positions of Douglas McGregor, John J. Morse, Jay W. Lorsch, Rensis Likert, Bernard M. Bass, William Reddin, George H. Rice,…

As economic realities drive colleges and universities to reassess financial strategies for managing information technology investments, many will have to develop a new game plan, requiring: collaboration among academic, financial, and technical leaders; rejuvenation of the collective conventional wisdom; shift to life-cycle budgeting; emphasis on…