This qualitative research study utilized the grounded theory tradition to examine organizational structures and processes in a purposefully selected sample of American universities that have established and maintained partnerships with industry. Institutional leaders from the corporate relations offices from fifteen of the top research universities in America were interviewed. Through a paradigm model we identified two major themes: (1) research universities that established and maintained partnerships with industry had a central corporate relations organization whose primary responsibility was to locate, secure, and maintain such partnerships and (2) these universities tended to utilize formal and regular communication mechanisms between the central corporate relations organization and other institutional units that interacted with industry. A set of conditional propositions were developed regarding the organizational structures and processes supporting the establishment and maintenance of partnerships with industry.