Institutional retrenchment is an on-going process in academia. So that crises can be avoided in the retrenchment process, every institution should develop processes both for the continual review of units by faculty colleagues and to ensure faculty participation in the management of the institution. Decisions about retrenchment should be based on criteria that departments may use to defend themselves. The best way to protect a department from being retrenched, or to defend it once an evaluative process is underway, is to maintain an image of a quality department closely connected to the work of other departments on the campus and to the overall mission of the institution. Disciplinary associations, such as the Association for Communication Administration, can contribute to forestalling retrenchment by providing (1) a body of scholarship and research that can be identified; (2) publication outlets; (3) the "refereeing," so important in attesting to quality; (4) conventions for papers to be presented; (5) committees, policy bodies, and other mechanisms by which problems may be posed; and (6) offices to put on vitas. The responsibility of the retrenchment review process, however, ultimately falls to the department. The department should cooperate in making available relevant data, requested and not requested, as well as assure and assert its right to respond and to appeal adverse decisions. In doing so, the department should call on the associations and others to help. Outside help can be helpful for maintaining the morale of the department under attack. (HOD)