Cheryl D. Lovell, Ph.D. – President, Adams State University, 2018-2022
Professor, Higher Education Administration & Leadership, Adams State University
While we are not officially out of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic according to the Centers for Disease Control, it still seems timely to think back and simultaneously think ahead finding any useful take-aways we can apply to figure out how we lead and how we move forward as an individual institution, a consortium of campuses, or a statewide system of higher education institutions. We look back to gain insights for our future and to “make meaning” of the chaos of the last two years. The reflection is important since it can inform our future decisions. The pandemic provided an interesting environment to test higher education in ways we have not experienced before.
Key encouraging highlights include
- We are adaptable, nimble institutions after all. Despite the long-term criticism of higher education institutions not changing fast enough we proved the naysayers wrong as many of us moved to remote working and remote learning within days or weeks of the CDC warnings of the impending spread of COVID-19 in early March 2020.
- We enhanced the use of technology tools which in some cases were already available. Some campuses offered daily and weekly “technology refreshers” for students and employees.
- Included in the uses of technology, the campus LMS became the sole source of providing classes and for some campuses the learning management system was fully utilized for the first time. Faculty and staff became Blackboard experts almost overnight to ensure students could continue their studies and stay on task toward graduation.
- Compassion came out in droves. For students many campuses extended deadlines for assignments. Some faculty provided creative and alternative approaches for students to demonstrate their learning. Many institutions also provided a Pass/Fail final grade option where students could choose this final course assessment over a standard letter grade. For faculty some institutions offered a pause on the tenure clock since many faculty were not able to conduct their research or scholarship from remote sites. Additional support to quickly develop technology enhanced instruction was provided to faculty as well. For staff remote work options were made available even after the initial “lockdown” periods were over to accommodate family needs where possible as well as technology support to conduct their role from off site. For all students and employees many institutions provided the needed hardware in the form of laptops and/or hotspots to accommodate remote learning and working.
- Online advising sessions became available as did counseling sessions via some type of video platform as well as using telephones for sessions. Whatever had to be done to support students to continue in their studies most campuses found strategies for their environments.
- Many also figured out how to provide activities to keep students engaged beyond their course work. Student life staff became increasingly creative with campus activities from online exercise classes to online scavenger hunts to online trivia nights. Some offered online cooking classes to support students who found themselves needing meal preparation support since many campus dining halls were closed. Several campuses continued to provide guest speakers and special guest performers via electronic delivery modalities.
- More financial aid was available to students during the 2020 and 2021 academic years than ever before thanks to the federal infusion of needed financial support through the HEERF program. Equally helpful were the federal funds allocated directly to institutions to replace lost revenues or to enhance campus infrastructure needs to accommodate remote learning.
- Many of us became overnight immunologists as we crammed to learn as much as possible about COVID-19 and its spread ability. We formed campus wide taskforces and collectively developed policies and practices to keep everyone as safe as possible which allowed greater involvement of managers, directors, and other campus leaders beyond the cabinet level to participate and influence decision making on campus. My previous institution had a Safe to Return Taskforce I established in April 2020 which included over 50 employees and student representatives. This practice was duplicated across many institutions which for some was the first time there was large scale group shared governance. As leaders we learned to trust these groups and to bring their recommendations to the forefront.
These are just a few of the outstanding changes many institutions made to adjust to the new “normal” we found ourselves in over these last two years. While we proved we were flexible to adapt to the global pandemic, we also learned this same crisis revealed or exposed issues which were previously unnoticed, dormant, or perhaps not regularly given enough attention.
Some of the more painful lessons include
- While technology uses increased, access to broadband, internet, or even hardware to utilize technology is not ubiquitous. There are some higher education professionals who make a choice to have their home as a “technology free zone” though many others had no choice as their location or region did not have universal access to the internet. Many did not have broadband access in my region and it was disappointing, yet a regular occurrence, to see many students and employees sitting in their cars on the perimeter of our campus logging into our campus internet working for hours doing their course work or trying to conduct business while the campus facilities were closed.
- Fragile lives existed before the pandemic which often went unnoticed as people had learned to get by or to do without long before COVID. Pre-pandemic, many had learned how to live with limited access to quality health care; learned to budget food costs where skipping meals intermittently over the course of a week was common practice; new clothing or furniture was always purchased at second-hand or thrift stores. The pandemic was especially impactful and added stresses to many living on the “margins.” Many worked multiple jobs to make ends meet and most of these jobs went away as businesses were closed for months. This was very apparent for historically underserved populations and regions of our country often populated with communities of color. Many of our students, faculty, and staff felt these impacts directly. With campus facilities and services not available for some campuses these closures often included food pantries and campus clothing exchanges making it even more difficult to get by.
- Mental health issues which were always pre-pandemic concerns for our students (at a certain level) burgeoned into crisis levels during the two years of COVID-19 protocols. They also rose to heighten concerns for our faculty and staff. Those fulltime employees fortunate enough to have good healthcare insurance options could take advantage of the benefits and those at public universities could tap into many state run employee assistance programs. While part of a health insurance program those in small, rural, and isolated communities were very limited to have local access to mental health providers and when someone was in their local community the demands for appointments made access practically impossible. The mental health concerns of our students and employees are real and acute for campuses now even after the state mandated protocols were lifted.
Stresses Remain for Many Campuses
Campus leaders are feeling the impacts of these stressed out, exhausted, psychologically fatigued employees who are the very ones needed to provide quality care, support, education, and development to our students. Any campus leader who thinks these are not real issues on their campus is simply not paying attention. Many perspectives have already been expressed pre-pandemic about the demoralized and low morale experienced on campuses and now layered on top of those existing frustrations are open hostilities which have built up over these last two years. Much of the pandemic disappointments are understandable as some experts have noted we humans are not generally equipped for the level of uncertainty we have been experiencing. Our minds are just not wired for extended durations of uncertainty brought on by the global pandemic. From March of 2020 to spring 2021, we did not know if there was an end in sight. Then in the latter part of spring of 2021 we began to have an ever so slight sense of optimism when a vaccine was developed and planning was underway to make it widely available. Then the optimism turned to intense aggravation when many did not want to take the vaccine or simply refused to acknowledge COVID was a real public health crisis. Two long years of the “pandemic drama” has left many campuses with fragile infrastructure, disconnected and perhaps broken communities of care. Trust in leadership is shaken if not completely lost.
How then does our higher education community move forward? For some campuses it is clear they are eager to move on and continue back to their “normal” practices and maybe implement a few lessons learned on how to galvanize the campus to respond to a major crisis in the future. Campus communication protocols were improved, and many institutions developed great texting, email, and campus alert systems to keep communication flowing regardless of the situation. Most campuses across the country improved their Incident Management Plans and have ensured themselves they are ready for the next crisis. Several large flagship institutions have already “rebounded” with their enrollments and are well on their way to strong, robust class sizes for this coming fall. Many of these legacy institutions have sustainable practices, pipelines, and protocols to weather many types of crises, small or large.
How to Move Forward
What does a campus do when there are deeper issues fully exposed during the pandemic and left open and unable to heal or at least form a scab? These exposed wounds, which were present prior to the pandemic, are real and are impacting campuses especially those which may have had prior crises or struggles. Institutions with distressed financial circumstances, declining enrollment, and low morale are still finding themselves in the same circumstances in this post pandemic world. Perhaps now feeling even more degraded not sure how to move forward. Uncertain or unsure, there are a few examples of how some institutions plan to move forward such as reports of numerous resignations, retirements of campus leaders – planned or unplanned – as a way some institutions are moving forward. Seeking a new leader might be helpful to set a new tone and direction as out with the old and in with the new seems like a good choice and an easy option for some campuses. Indeed, it is the sole prerogative of any board to seek the leader they collectively think will guide the institution safely through the post-pandemic environment.
While a good option for some institutions a word of caution might be worth considering. Those fissions that existed pre-pandemic and are likely unhealed are still there regardless of an old or new leader. A new leader may make an immediate difference for some as a new face can bring a new spirit. The downside to the new leader option is without true healing and trust building across the entire campus, from the ground up, those immediate feelings of optimism brought on with a new leader may quickly fade without the real work of trust building. For those institutions where trust was not part of their culture pre-pandemic, it is unlikely the post-pandemic culture will be different in the long run.
Trust building is intentional work. It requires open and honest conversations and behavior changes by each member of the community. Trust is also an economic driver as high trusting organizations tend to be more productive and efficient over time. With high trust there is a time saving aspect as short cuts to communication are possible since there are mutual understandings and high trust. Stronger relationships and partnerships are present in trusting organizations as well as increased loyalty. These benefits to high trust campuses provide a needed foundation to moving forward after two years of chaos. To move forward and adequately learn from these last two years is important. It will be an enhanced process for those campuses where trust is part of their culture whether it was established pre-pandemic, gained through the pandemic, or through a post-pandemic campuswide commitment to do the work needed to develop a trusting organization.
Trust Matters
How does our higher education community move forward is an important question which cannot be answered with one approach unless the approach is based on true, authentic trust building. There are no quick fixes to establishing trust and to developing a culture of trust across the entire campus. Many approaches at staff development can be helpful at times but are not sustainable unless there is time dedicated to establishing and building trust. As Stephen M.R. Covey says in The Speed of Trust: “Trust changes everything.” A university campus with high trust will endure and will move forward together. The good news is every campus can reach a high functioning level of trust with work and commitment to each other. Moving forward is not easy but staying the same will not allow sustainable progress.
Tags and Key Words:
Leadership Pandemic University CEO
Crisis Leadership
Pandemic Response
Leading University through Crisis
Lessons Learned Pandemic
COVID Leadership Response
Trust and University Culture
