Crisis Leadership in Higher Education

“In this time of rapid change in higher education, it is incumbent upon every academic leader to know how to act effectively in a crisis. Sound crisis leadership saves careers, keeps academic institutions from being weakened or destroyed, and helps protects the students those institutions serve. I believe that every administrator and faculty leader should be acquainted with the ideas presented in Crisis Leadership in Higher Education: Theory and Practice and be prepared to adopt the framework it presents as a means of preserving the integrity of their universities, colleges, and programs.” -- Jeffrey L. Buller * author of The Essential Academic Dean or Provost: A Comprehensive Desk Reference *
"If ever there was a book for its time, Crisis in Higher Education: Theory and Practice by Ralph Gigliotti is it. The crises befalling higher education today are coming fast and furious, and the demands placed upon academic leaders are numerous. Crisis management requires a highly coordinated effort, a heightened sensitivity to context, serving the needs of multiple constituencies, and seamless execution. Dr. Gigliotti’s book is a rich study of the most current academic crises, a practical exploration of the lessons learned, and a competencies scorecard that is a valuable tool. Although leadership in higher education has historically been a neglected area of research, Ralph Gigliotti admirably steps in to fill that gap. This book is a must read for leadership scholars and academic practitioners alike." -- Gail T. Fairhurst * author of The Power of Framing: Creating the Language of Leadership *
“The issue of crisis communication is vital in today's historical moment. Crisis Leadership in Higher Education is unlike any book I’ve ever seen, blending the voices of administrators with the literature on crisis in order to offer insights that will be valuable to the community of academic administrators.” -- Janie Harden Fritz, Ph.D., author of Professional Civility * editor of Journal of the Association for Communication Administration *
"Read this book. Now. If you wait until you need it to address a crisis, you may end up finding yourself with lots of unintended time to read it and to consider options that might have led to better outcomes." -- Robin Kaler * Associate Chancellor for Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign *
"When a college or university is plunged into crisis—whether by deeds of its own making or by circumstances beyond its control—the very future of the institution may seem to hang in the balance and the quality of its leadership is tested as never before. Drawing masterfully upon interviews with forty senior leaders from major research universities and upon an exhaustive survey of news stories, Ralph Gigliotti has given us both a path-breaking analysis of higher education crises and a remarkably insightful guide to surviving and surmounting them." -- President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of History and Education, Rutgers University * Richard McCormick, Ph.D. *
"Selected New Books on Higher Education" compiled by Ki-Jana Deadwyler and Ruth Hammond 
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Selected-New-Books-on-Higher/247370 * Chronicle of Higher Education *
"The Best Way to Prepare for Disaster: Crisis Leadership and Higher Ed" interview with Ralph Gigliotti
https://evolllution.com/managing-institution/operations_efficiency/the-best-way-to-prepare-for-disaster-crisis-leadership-and-higher-ed/ * The Evolllution *
"Crisis Leadership and the Higher Education Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak" by Ralph Gigliotti
https://evolllution.com/managing-institution/operations_efficiency/crisis-leadership-and-the-higher-education-response-to-the-covid-19-outbreak/ * The Evolllution *
"This book offers something for everyone. The interview data from senior-level higher education administrators creates a certain intimacy. The real-life case studies and crisis headlines convey real urgency facing crisis leaders. The literature review and content analysis of crisis articles give credit to the relationship between scholarship and practice. With the end-of-chapter exercises, opportunities are abundant for self- and organizational reflective practice. In reviewing this book, I was drawn to the professional inference, especially in light of our doctoral program creating a new course focusing on crisis leadership. However, this book offers much more than a course reading—it allows for professional retrospections, personal remembrances relative to how one defines or describes crisis, and how and why one engages in certain decisions/actions/responses during specific events/situations." * The Department Chair *
"Post-pandemic: The power of crisis management planning," by Alaina G. Levine * Science Magazine *