This report presents the rationale for the Stanford Project on Academic Governance and a survey of the topics investigated in the project, the methodology used, and some of the conclusions reached. The project's specific objectives were to describe some major developments in academic governance and to apply sociological organization theory to decisionmaking in American colleges and universities. The historical roots of academic governance patterns were examined to put contemporary conditions in proper perspective. The research undertaken on contemporary conditions examined a sample of 249 colleges and universities, focusing on their organizational features and environmental relationships, and a large sample of faculty members, focusing on their autonomy, morale, and policy-influencing activities. On the basis of the information gathering, the project identifies some emerging trends that may affect governance patterns in the future: the tightening of resources, the reductions of faculty and presidential power, the increasing involvement of outside groups and students in academic decisionmaking, and the unionization of faculty members. (Author)