University-based research centers can bring prestige and revenue to the institutions of higher education with which they are affiliated. Collaborating with corporations, units of government, and foundations, centers provide services to organizational leaders, policy makers, and communities. University research centers continue to increase in number and influence. Despite these increases and unique attributes of centers, center leaders are subject to cultural norms, political moves, and traditional flows of resources within their institutions. Survey and secondary data analyses of 176 educational centers confirmed and provided a ranking for characteristics associated with Ikenberry and Friedman's standard, adaptive, and shadow heuristic introduced in 1972. Interviews with 12 center directors yielded a list of center administrative issues and strategies to address issues of planning, leadership, institutional relations, funding, and management. Center and university leaders can use findings to categorize and better understand the organizational behavior of centers to improve effectiveness. (Contains 2 tables.)