nation, community colleges arebeing sued with increasing frequency over a variety of issues.Officials are confronted with a multitude of federal statutes andcourt rulings that have made governance and administration morecomplex and legalistic than ever before. Special-interest groups,like teachers’ unions and taxpayers’ associations, areincreasingly involved in governing board elections, creatingvolatile situations for presidents. Consequently, caution is awatchword among many leaders. This situation does nothing to fosterthe teamwork that is essential in quality institutions.  Community colleges exist in a highly litigious society, andtheir leaders are confronted with numerous legal issues as theycarry out assigned duties. Some of those issues are not new topostsecondary education. Examples include governing boardrelations, academic freedom and tenure, collective bargaining, andemployment issues. Other issues newer to the community collegeinclude student rights, codes of conduct, accommodation of disabledstudents, campus safety, distance education, intellectual propertyrights, and risk management. Community college leaders must findways to resolve or mitigate these and other issues if theircolleges are to continue providing exemplary services tostudents.This is the 125th issue of the quarterly higher educationjournal New Directions for Community Colleges.

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