What College And University Presidents Are Learning From The Covid-19 Pandemic

In the past year and a half, we have watched colleges and universities pivot quickly in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. These institutions, which are traditionally resistant to change and to online learning, were forced to reconsider how to engage students. At the same time, college leaders grappled with financial deficits, faculty and staff furloughs, reductions in state funding, uncertain enrollment, and calls for equity as the pandemic magnified racial and socio-economic inequities.

I talked with leaders at some of the nation’s Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) as these schools serve the greatest numbers of students of color, first generation college students, and low-income students. Timothy Hall, the president of Mercy College, a private, Hispanic Serving Institution, located in Dobbs Ferry, New York, shares: “Members of our community desired and deserved to know how the college was protecting their safety and serving their educational goals during the pandemic. They also wanted avenues for communicating their own concerns and suggestions.” He feels that his traditional ways of communicating were challenged. He also says that the pandemic was hitting students of color and low-income students hard. His advice to anyone leading a college or university: “institutions, especially those serving students of color, first generation students, and low income students, have to reject a “c’est la vie” attitude. Equity is possible and leaders have to be committed to producing it. 

Likewise, Marcheta Evans, the first African American and the first woman to lead Bloomfield College, a private institution in New Jersey, found that the need for transparency was essential. She and her staff also gave students “confident reassurance, actions and expressions of understanding, and the offering of comfort.” She leads the only institution in New Jersey that is both a Predominantly Black Institution and a Hispanic Serving Institution and as such, she found herself crafting messages of support that spoke to the unique needs of these communities. She also learned how to “pivot on a dime” in the face of the pandemic. For those focused on leading a college in the future, she suggests “exercising patience, identifying ways to recenter yourself … so you are able to confidently … lead others to persevere.”

From Walter Kimbrough’s perspective – he leads Dillard University, a historically Black private college in New Orleans – “a culture of timely communication” was key. But during an ever-changing pandemic, maintaining an open channel of information is tough. An avid social media user (@HipHopPrez), Kimbrough made use of his campus updates on Twitter to conduct business as usual. However, he says that for a small, intimate campus, “technology was a poor substitute for face to face” communication and interaction. Yet the pandemic brought about some positive changes, including the ability for the administration to make decisions quickly, which is rare in higher education.“Higher education makes everything difficult, often for no good reason except we are conservative organizations,” he says, “and Covid forced us to move quickly and decisively.” He hopes that higher education will be more nimble in the future. 

Presidents note that being able to adapt to a near-nonstop barrage of information and a constantly changing landscape has become an essential skill for college presidents. According to Morgan State University president David Wilson, the pandemic has reinforced his view that effective leadership is about “meeting the moment and adapting your leadership style to align with the challenges and opportunities.” Given his commitment to equity as a president of Historically Black Morgan State, Wilson was focused on the pandemic alongside “a period of unprecedented reckoning with the [nation’s] sins of the past.” He considers part of his leadership role that of working daily to address these inequities and stated, “The college presidency is one of the toughest jobs right now in the nation.” He cautions those interested in becoming college presidents, noting that they should be: “be clear on their ‘why.’ These are not jobs—in my view, they are callings.” Regardless of the “tough work” involved, he finds it “enormously satisfying.”

Roslyn Artis, also president of a private Historically Black institution – Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina – has always considered herself a “servant leader.” However, the Covid-19 pandemic pushed her commitment to new levels, forcing her to be creative in the ways she addressed student needs. In her words, “Food and housing insecurity; lack of access to technology and the psychological and emotional toll the twin pandemics – Covid-19 and systemic racism – took on our students, forced us to engage more deeply with our students to address their greatest needs in the moment.” For those brave enough to consider leading in higher education, she offers this advice: “Leaders must be adept at ‘shape-shifting’”