A case study of university transformation: An organization adapts to a changing environment

The target of this explanatory study was to advance the development of micropolitical theory. The author sought to use and improve a mixture of unobtrusive research methods with the goal of advancing the understanding of a complex educational institution. The Santa Barbara campus of the University of California served as the organization under examination in this case study. Qualitative research methodology was employed and a number of indicators of "core technology" (Thompson, 1967) were used and modified in order to answer the research question.; The study provides a depth analysis of selected aspects of the history of an institution. Data were collected with the assumption that critical incidents and histories hold the blueprint for the basic shape and direction of a social system. Printed records, reports, and public information were the major sources of data. The researcher attempted to minimize effects of his enmeshed role as a member and participant in the organization.; Each change in staff, funding sources, allocation of physical space, and grant money received tells the story of a campus that has undergone two types of basic change. What was once a teaching academy has become a celebrated research institution and what was once a primarily State funded institution has successfully invested in resources and strategies to secure alternative funds.; Insight was gained into how an organization shifted the balance of its core priorities without dissolving. The campus used subunits to maintain organizational stability while changing on its margins to meet environmental demands.