Key drivers of major changes in the post 1994 South African higher education transformation has been due to the increased involvement of university students in the university leadership and governance. However, strife for increased participation has often resulted into tension between the university student organizations and the university leadership. This has often made university students as institutional stakeholders re-question their faith and confidence in institutional values in fostering university transformation and change. This paper argues that relationships between these two factors are fundamental to these processes; quality student participation in leadership and confidence in institutional values. The paper makes use of the concept of culture within a micro-political framework to generate models of good governance within such stakeholder institutional environments. The study relied on data collected through documents, interviews and surveys. In its conclusion, the paper calls for the professionalization of stakeholder governance practises in stakeholder governed university environments.