All institutions of higher education receive support from different combinations of patrons holding different expectations about the rewards of their patronage. In fact, much of what goes on in colleges and universities is the result of accommodation of the interests of governmental, industrial, and philanthropic patrons mediated through the professional filters of faculties and administrations. Moreover, patterns of patronage have changed over time, from the early influence of organized religion to the more recent enlarged role of the national government. The continued patronage of the private sector is virtually unique in American higher education. Private sector patronage in this century has been fueled by income tax laws and the financial advantages of charitable deductions. The motives and methods of private-sector patrons continue to be issues of concern. The federal government has become, and will remain, the dominant patron for research universities. However, the federal government is not, in any meaningful sense, a partner with universities, despite the rhetoric of government-university relations. As social needs change, the priorities of a democratic government change, sharply limiting the ability of that government to make continuing commitments. In addition, for the past 20 years, federal patronage has been of the "purchase order" variety, with virtually no investment in the physical infrastructure of research and uneven investments in replenishing the human resource base. Government patronage can transform scientific decisions into economic and then political decisions. The recent trend toward congressional earmarking of funds for scientific facilities and research undermines the system of competition and merit review. (KM)