As part of a project of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest to strengthen relationships between liberal arts education and professional education in the health sciences, three reports were prepared by consultants. In "The Role of Distinctiveness in College Development," Burton R. Clark discusses an investigation he carried out in the early 1960s that focused on the character of Antioch, Reed, and Swarthmore and considers how the concept of organizational saga can be used in understanding other colleges and even universities. Five alternatives for linking traditional commitments and professional education are also discussed. In "Linking the Liberal Arts and Professional Education," Howard R. Bowen considers "learned professions" and the common characteristics they share that make a liberal arts education appropriate training for future practitioners. Three difficulties in linking professional and liberal learning concern lack of proper orientation, absence of packaged programs, and poor career counseling. In "Issues and Alternatives in Career Preparation and the Liberal Arts: An Initial Appraisal," H. Bradley Sagen examines three basic issues concerning the question of whether the liberal arts experience and preparation for a career should be incorporated within a single educational program. Three issues involved in the implementation of career preparation efforts within a liberal arts context, and three alternative models for designing career preparation programs are considered. (SW)