Any good college resists rule, but it also has a built-in self-correcting apparatus, suggests this university president. Trustees should ask themselves: Does your college surprise you? Do you trust it? Do you wish you could be more a part of it? (Author/LBH)

Reflecting on his experience as a trustee of the University of Maine when the Governor demanded the resignation of the entire board (and all refused), the author examines issues of institutional autonomy in public higher education emphasizing that the board of trustees must determine which kinds of political influence are proper. (JT)

Horizontal vs. vertical cuts, that is the key question. Faculties favor the horizontal (put us all in the same boat), but the deep vertical cut (e.g. staff and program reduction) is, the author argues, most likely to cure an institutional illness. (Editor/JT)

The role of trustees as part of an effective fund-raising team is discussed, and fund-raising check lists for trustees and for colleges are presented by the vice president for university relations and development at the University of Michigan. (JT)

Governance trends that promise to improve quality in higher education include: regular presidential evaluation; private fund raising by public institutions; greater attention to physical plant and energy problems; meticulous long-range planning and resource management; and resistance to pressures on institutional independence. (Author/LBH)

Arguing that society and students will both profit if students receive a broader, more value-oriented education than they are now getting, the author cautions governing boards not to measure civilization by dollars but to see the defining of missions and priorities as their primary role. (JT)

The president of the University of Minnesota notes that any threat to the agriculture, medical, law or dental school is sure to stir an outcry, and wonders who will speak up the same way when steady-state constraints threaten the liberal arts. Governing boards, he believes, will play a pivotal role here. (Editor)

Presents the rationale for recycling campus building (renovating, remodeling, and reconstructing) for functional, aesthetic, and financial reasons. Emphasizes the need for long-range planning. (JT)

For this time of uncertainty and insecurity the author suggests six things trustees and presidents can or must do: analyze the situation of the individual institution, reassess missions, guard flexibility, look to new markets (sources of students), consider the most appropriate type of leadership, look ahead to the year 2000.

Proposes new economic and political philosophies to turn the college-graduate surplus into a trained manpower shortage and calls for a new partnership in policy making between educators, employers, and the community at large for interrelating education and work. (JT)

A slowdown and even rollback of the government intrusion can be brought about if the higher education community adopts a basic commitment to the development of credible self-regulating mechanisms. One area that needs attention is accreditation. (Editor/LBH)