Provost Leadership in Crisis: Building Institutional Resilience for Student Success

When everything seems to be falling apart in higher education, how do chief academic officers keep student success as their North Star? This interactive panel will feature administrators from community college, regional university, and liberal arts college contexts sharing real crisis leadership decisions from The Chief Academic Officer's Handbook (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025).

Forget theoretical frameworks. These five seasoned leaders will reveal specific strategies for protecting high-impact educational practices during budget pressures, maintaining inclusive excellence initiatives amid political controversy, and rebuilding community trust after institutional crises. Expect candid discussions of both successful crisis navigation and decisions that, in hindsight, compromised student welfare.

Participants will gain immediately applicable tools for student-centered resource allocation, evidence-based approaches to maintaining academic quality under stress, and communication strategies for authentic leadership during turbulent times. This session is essential for provosts, deans, department chairs, and aspiring academic leaders seeking practical wisdom for protecting student outcomes when external pressures mount.