This study of a return to in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic at a residential, liberal arts university examines the role communication played to facilitate the safety of students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community. The study uses a grounded-theory approach to frame the communication situation, and a thematic analysis to…

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…

The winter storm of late 2022 caused difficulties for many US-based airlines, but none more so than Southwest Airlines. Like other airlines, Southwest canceled flights in the early stages of the storm. Their attempted recoveries failed due to procedural and technology issues. The airline was unable to cope with the magnitude of canceled flights,…

Courses: Crisis Communication, Advanced Public Relations. Objectives: In this multiple class activity, students will (a) apply crisis communication concepts and skills to several phases of an ongoing hypothetical crisis, (b) synthesize course material into a crisis communication manual, and (c) engage in ongoing critical reflection about best…

In Kenya, when schools and universities closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 18 million Kenyan learners were affected, putting at stake the significant gains the Government has made to providing inclusive quality education. This analysis sheds light on the central question: What facilitates government leadership in crisis and…

'Disaster education' has been studied in various disciplines such as disaster risk management and environmental studies. However, disaster education is a relatively 'new enquiry' in the field of education. Particularly, the literature that conceptualises 'disaster education' in education is minimal. This paper aims to fill this gap by synthesising…

The decision whether to reopen universities for in-person learning in late 2020 relied on ethical decision-making where the consequences were dire to the mission of the institution, health of the community, financial well-being of the institution and employees, and had political ramifications. The risks that universities faced worldwide included…

This practice brief provides practical, research-based strategies educators can use to de-escalate challenging student behavior in the classroom. Despite the development of supportive, safe, and predictable school environments, students may, at times, become agitated, and their behavior may escalate to unsafe levels. With some advance planning,…

Due to the tremendous attack of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, educational institutions struggled noticeably to cope with its associated predicament. In the initial stage of the pandemic attack, knowledge about Coronavirus and its socio-economic effects was scarce, and school leaders lacked adequate training on crisis management during a…

This dissertation includes three studies that investigate the factors that shaped emergency educational policymaking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing upon scholarship on federalism, bureaucratic behavior, and partisanship, these studies expand our knowledge on the impact that local and state politics can have upon street-level bureaucrats'…

At the height of pandemic-era procedures amidst great changes and uncertainty, school principals across the world were challenged to navigate and restructure ways to lead their schools. While leveraging crisis management leadership, principals needed to be attentive and adaptive to the emotional wellbeing and health of their employees. Today…

Is your school prepared to deal with a crisis, whether it's a hurricane, an earthquake, an explosion at a nearby chemical facility, an active shooter, or one of many other possibilities? Does your school have an up-to-date plan to deal with hazards of all sorts? Do teachers and other staff members know what to do in emergency situations to protect…

Disruption is an inevitable factor in business and society, while inability to mitigate and manage risk can cause irreparable damage to business, the economy, and our ways of life. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened interest in standards-based strategies for risk management and crisis preparedness to enhance organizational and societal…

The world with vast continental landmasses and having diversified topographic structures is bound to face a multiplicity of natural hazards on local to regional scale. Natural events of such adverse effects on human property and life have led us to conceptualize these as disasters. The trend analysis of the last 100 years over the earth reveals…

Over the past two decades, suicide rates have been increasing steadily in the United States (Hedeggaard, et al. 2018), which has led to many higher education institutions exploring ways to prevent, intervene, and respond to student suicides. While prevention and intervention are vital components to addressing suicides on college campuses,…