The purpose of this descriptive study was to develop and validate a list of the skills and knowledge that will be necessary for the career preparation of college union executive directors who will be hired in Research and Doctoral I universities in the next decade, (2000 to 2010). The research design recognizes job congruencies and shared competencies between hospitality general managers and college union directors. In designing this study, three separate but interrelated research methods were employed. Those methods are (a) A series of focused interviews with experts in the college union field; (b) A review of existing data, including job advertisements for union director positions; results from the Association of College Unions International data bank; literature from the college union field; and literature from the hospitality industry, related to general managers' competencies; and (c) An original questionnaire that was designed using the data gathered from the first two techniques. The questionnaire was administered by mail to the research population, college union directors at Research I, Research II, and Doctoral I universities. Ratings on the 86 competencies from the survey were tabulated, measures of central tendency were computed and characteristics were ranked in order of importance to answer the research questions. Results indicated agreement among directors regarding the necessary knowledge and abilities for career preparation of union directors. No significant differences existed between responses from Student Affairs and Business/Auxiliary Affairs, or between male and female respondents. Significant differences were found between responses from directors at commuter and residential universities. Findings from this study will provide guidance for persons who are interested in preparing for a career as a college union director and for veteran professionals who serve as mentors to newcomers into the field. / Ph. D.

This research views college unions as social and physical constructs in the urban and cultural context. It argues that their role is broader than a campus territory. Unions are urban artifacts that function to hinge campus environment with the cityscape and which must be grounded to a location, a site, and an urban context. Unions are cultural nodes that interweave different ages, disciplines, and ethnicities in one place. This research also argues that the architecture of unions today has lost its historical intention while embracing a contemporary global approach. The research proposes criteria for future designs to help connect to the historical vision. These criteria were arrived at through investigative processes concerning the historical beginnings of college unions in the US, the chronological evolution of their theme concepts, the nature and scale of their programs, verbal and visual surveys, and interviews with people.The research is linked to a design process through which these criteria are applied, in an attempt, to test their validity through an architectural proposal. While both modes of research must be anchored to a site, they are sited in Portland, Oregon, tied to one of Portland's largest urban developments in a public university, the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). The research solidifies its future unions criteria to guide the design process into three core values: Gathering, Diversity, and Heart. Consequently, the process sought to open up the architectural form, in light of these core values, to accommodate public activities as well as private activities, and situate it in a connected urban context that anchors the project to its city/university. The research uses site, program, and regional technology as research topics to approach a synthetic architectural union concept. The research reflects upon the issues that were explored throughout this experiment, other issues that could be explored, and other possibilities that could differently approach union's urban role using the same criteria.