Leadership Renewed

The month of February facilitates us thinking about those things that are strong emotional connections and definitely touch our hearts. And since it is a “presidential” month, too, February has probably been a gentle reminder to so many college and university presidents about why they pursue their passions. The dilemma today though is that higher education is in a post-pandemic mode, and as the Chronicle noted in the headline of a recent article, “Who Wants to Be a College President?”

For better or worse, this is the new normal with so many campus communities, and it not only prompts a new way of thinking about viable solutions but requires implementing those solutions. Ironically, the essence of this very real situation was addressed in an outstanding article recently published in AGB’s Trusteeship magazine titled “Leadership in Times of Crisis” and written by David V. Rosowsky, Stephen M. Gavazzi, and E. Gordon Gee. One of the takeaways noted in the article captures today’s situation for higher education leadership: “Higher education leaders need to adopt new strategies to successfully navigate future crises in the so-called post-pandemic era.”

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As we noted last month, ambiguity and uncertainty can often dominate the mindset among so many higher education leaders, but now is the time to do. It is a necessity. The Trusteeship article reinforced this mindset with this highlighted quote: “The success of a forward-leaning university (college) depends on the ability to outrace, outpace, and outdeliver against other institutions. This means not just moving toward opportunity, but also accelerating toward it.” The article’s concluding remarks noted, “Challenges to institutions and demands on their leaders will be greater, more complicated, and more intersectional. And so, higher education leadership in the post-pandemic era will require new thinking, new skill sets, and new strategies to travel this ever more demanding trail.”

Happy trails to everyone as you now pursue some new paths, journeys, and decisions!