A content analysis of the literature on leadership in colleges and universities and on selection, retention, and attrition of college students, especially minority students, was conducted. It is concluded that elegant questions about the structures and processes of higher education have been asked and answered, but provide little guidance in decision-making and little practical help in administration, leadership, or pedagogy. The philosophical position of critical social science suggests a whole range of questions which cannot be explored well within the bounds of conventional science, but which can be both asked and examined well utilizing critical theory. Considered are such issues as how the role of values directs and guides higher education research, what the role of moral discourse is in university life, and what the implications are when the university is considered as a moral entity. Contains approximately 175 references. (JDD)