ABSTRACT
One of the irreducible problems in the speed of technology transfer in colleges and universities is the roadblock of academic administrators. By stretching a bit, the story may provide entry to a statement of the persistent damper on the speed with which new technology can become integral to, and supportive of, the purposes and uses of human institutions. The essence of the problem is this: new technology must be provided insofar as possible in a form which supports and extends the structures and activities that the users believe essential to their own condition and the nature of their institutions. There is an obvious fit between the nature of university organization, instruction, and distributed computing. Distributed computing might be the key that unlocks the door to more and better uses of computing for administrative purposes. The uses of the term suggest a possible affinity between the emerging technological possibilities of distributed computing and the characteristic structure of the university.
