Douglass Cater, president of Washington College, a small liberal arts college that was Maryland's first chartered institution, is profiled. The president's attitudes on liberal arts and specialization, the stated role of the college, and details of the inaugural ceremony are noted. (MSE)

In excerpts from his inaugural address, Washington College's president reaffirms the value of the small liberal arts college in a highly specialized educational system, denounces the university's scientific approach as inappropriate for providing a value system for students, and notes the need for several distinct approaches to learning. (MSE)

The repercussions from the Supreme Court decision in National Labor Relations Board v Yeshiva University are discussed. The court held that the university's full-time faculty members include managerial employees excluded from collective bargaining rights. The verdict is seen as preventing compulsory collective bargaining from spreading. (MLW)

Three distinct eras of higher education are seen as characterizing the 200-year history of Williams College (Massachusetts): first as a Christian college, then as a gentleman's school, and, finally, as a consumer-oriented institution as part of a general trend toward consumerism after World War II resulting from social change and decline in the…

The ways in which current theories of leadership relate to perceptions of organizational effectiveness are examined in a study looking at these interactions and relevant demographic factors in 11 small, private, midwestern colleges. A model of transactional and transformational leadership proposed by Bass (1985) is investigated along with an…

This investigation of how ten small, private college libraries go about collecting books focuses on the degree of responsibility and control those libraries exercise over what is included in their collections. The findings and conclusions of the study are based upon interviews with library administrators and acquisitions librarians at Middlebury…

A simple, flexible approach of planning for small colleges is presented after which action can be patterned. Alternative methods are described for carrying out the important activities found in most processes designed to generate a long-range institutional plan. A rationale for planning is offered along with a discussion of what planning can do…

The author writes briefly of his experience as president of The Defiance College, a small college in danger of closing. He makes a plea for humane teaching and proposes that colleges losing students seek to enroll those past the age of 55 in residence courses designed to prepare them for their new stage in life. (JMD)

The final chapter of a study of the failure of four small private colleges implicates their trustees. Trustees were found to have had inadequate participation in planning and operational realities, the consequence in part, of a lack of critical information. (LBH)

A common perception is that the leadership problems facing the presidents of small, independent liberal arts colleges are simply a subset of those facing larger schools, but small colleges operate in a unique economic environment that offers opportunity as well as peril. The president's involvement is required at every level. (MSE)

A consortium of 12 small, private liberal arts colleges in the Great Lakes region has shown that by working together, the institutions can provide major opportunities for faculty professional development through conferences and workshops. (MSE)

The behaviors and subsequent situations of two sets of colleges that experienced severe financial difficulties in the mid-1970s were examined. One set made a dramatic recovery; the other set did not. The more resilient group pursued a combination of adaptive and interpretive strategies. (MLW)

Bryn Mawr College is developing a data gathering workbook to aid small institutions in the analysis of financial options. Growth-rate balance and data gathering and analysis workbooks are described along with four problem areas: growth-rate imbalance, asset depletion, control indicators, and quality shifts. (MLW)

The role and responsibility of trustees of private colleges in fund raising are discussed. Four areas are identified: (1) concentration on large gifts, (2) alumni financial support, (3) the voluntary support of the friends and non-alumni of the college community, and (4) deferred gifts. (MLW)

Many small, private colleges lack the resources to develop a planning, management and evaluation (PME) system and the result is planning becomes a neglected function. An in-depth study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the Detroit Institute of Technology is described. (MLW)