New Jersey's Higher Education Restructuring Act of 1994 expands and codifies certain authorities of trustee boards, creates a statewide coordinating board called the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, and creates the Presidents' Council which consists of the presidents of the 46 institutions of higher education which receive state funding. The Act mandates that boards of trustees, presidents, and the statewide coordinating board reconceive how they do what they do and question why they do it at all, in response to tremendous forces of change. The goals for higher education as expressed in the Act include access, affordability, and excellence. This paper discusses membership and activities of the Commission and the Council and responds to criticisms that the new governance structure is lacking in accountability, authority, and stature. The paper concludes that institutions of higher education must have local control for strategic as well as tactical and expedient decisions, and they must be flexible, responsive, and visionary. A summary of Commission priorities and a work plan for making recommendations on higher education funding and tuition establishment are appended. (JDD)