This book addresses the philosophy of governance in higher education, the nature of governance and some of the forms it may take, the meaning of democracy in university governance, criteria for assessing governance systems, and underlying assumptions about aims and efforts. The book focuses on the colleges and universities in New York City in the 1930s when the staffs of these schools became conscious of problems in governance. It describes the growth of a college teachers' union; a sit-down strike by students; and the controversy, agitation, and organizing that forced the teaching staff into political action. It also identifies the pioneering significance of the "revolution" in democracy and examines the lessons learned by sudden rather than piece-meal reform, by human responses to institutional change, and by the relation of ideas to social movements. The book then moves to the present day to extract the lessons learned from past experience and examines the philosophy of democratic governance by evaluating the variety of claims for participation in terms of the ultimate mission of the university. Finally, the book provides a mode of assessing the different mechanisms in governance, including the competing patterns of top-down management and bottom-up policy formation. Contains an index, chapter notes, and appendixes. (GLR)