The role of governors in higher education was studied through a 1984 survey of 70 former governors from 40 states. Attention was directed to issues such as: how often and when governors get involved in university issues, the influence of various higher education constituencies on gubernatorial decision making, gubernatorial views on private higher education, and governors' perception of impact on higher education. Findings indicate that governors play an important role in setting the tone and texture of statewide public higher education. Fifty-one percent of the former governors indicated that they spend at least 10 percent of their time on issues related to higher education, while 9 percent of the governors spent 20 percent or more time on higher education issues. Findings support Lowi's process model that suggests that the type of issue determines the level of policy intervention. Governors and their immediate staff were in frequent monthly and weekly communication with state officials, including bipartisan legislative leaders, higher education legislative committees, and state coordinating or governing board staff. Governors were the most influential proximate decision makers because of their control of the executive budget process. Former governors, regardless of political affiliation and geographical region, were evenly split over state support to private higher education. (SW)