Unlike other industries, in higher education an institution's most important asset is its reputation. Yet as fundamental as it is, many leaders continue to view managing reputation as dishonest and counterproductive, a suspect process that undermines the very idea of reputation as an organic outcome of reality. When leadership credibility is on…

A good reputation goes hand in hand with a university's "brand," which in essence is the promise the institution makes to all of its constituencies. A brand is appreciably more than an attractive logo, reinforcing colors, and compelling admission brochures (though all of these reflect it). If properly thought through and developed from the inside…