The Executive Management Leadership Institute (EMLI) is a comprehensive sequence of modules designed to support development of administrators in the North Carolina Community College System. As part of the EMLI, participants complete a project demonstrating skill in applying research to the tasks of administration. This report presents three research papers completed by graduates of the EMLI program. The first paper, "An Analysis of the Career Paths of Mid-Atlantic Community College Presidents," by Kenneth Arnold Boham, describes a survey of 98 community college presidents to determine the perceived strategies by which individuals became presidents and any relationships between these strategies and selected socio-economic, familial, career record, and socio-psychological traits. Next, "Outcomes-Based and Results-Oriented Budgeting: A Case Study in a Small Rural Community College," by Loretta M. Church, describes a study conducted at Mayland Community College, in North Carolina, in which special budget allocations for developmental instruction, counseling, and educational assessment and placement were shown to have no impact on the academic persistence of developmental students. Finally, "The Effectiveness of College Orientation as Taught at Four North Carolina Community Colleges," by Matthew S. Garrett, presents results of a study comparing 87 pairs of first-time, degree-seeking two-year college students, concluding that the college orientation course had a positive impact on participants' retention and grade point averages. References for each paper are included. (PAA)