The extent to which formal campus leaders shared consistent goals was investigated during 1986-1987, along with the relationship between presidential communications and goal consistency. Four concerns were examined: the expressed goals of college presidents; the extent of agreement (goal consistency) or disagreement (goal diversity) between…

The search for a leader is seen as a symbolic process through which institutional goals are discovered, political influence is negotiated, organizational values and myths are confirmed, uncertainty is reduced, and processes of choice are simplified. (Author/MLW)

Catastrophe theory, a mathematical technique for studying discontinuous processes such as sudden and dramatic changes in the behavior of a system as a consequence of small changes in controlling factors, is discussed. The "cusp catastrophe" is used to create a three-dimensional model. (Author/MLW)

The definitions that college and university presidents offer when they are asked to interpret the meaning of leadership are consistent with leadership theories emphasizing social power, directive influence, and role behavior. Greater attention to the implications of alternative theories focusing on social exchange might help presidents be more…