Academic Authority and accreditation

In the Chronicle of Higher Education, Date: February 25, 2010, Title: At a Tiny College, an Epic Battle Over Academic Authority By Don Troop wrote about the happenings of a small college and its struggles. The primary issue was the mission statement and its change and the power struggle on campus.. What I found interesting is how this fits in with accreditation. If you read this entry, nowhere does it indicate the college, specifically its leadership, does it indicate any input from the community and its constituents. I am wondering if there was any discussion on this. It is directly inline, or in this case out of line, with criterion 1 and how the institution relates to its mission.
Take a look at this article. I wonder what type of faculty buy in for assessment the faculty will or would have? Reading this from the outside is very interesting, on many fronts. Accreditation is not even discussed, but it is something I thought of when I read through it.
Another thing I wonder is how can an institution of higher education operate freely when someone donates large quantities of money to it. Would the donor not expect some sort of say in what happens on campus. {um UND???} Or wouldn't the college feel obligated to listen? I hope I never have to go through something like this. Happy reading.