Petty Principles: A Challenge to Higher Education Leaders in the Wake of a Social Injustice Crisis

Often I find myself writing and providing leadership strategies to assist academic leaders on their respective journeys in higher education. Thus, now I find myself distraught as we operate in the face of an increasingly unbearable reality of social injustice. As higher education administrators we have a role and responsibility to model principles of civility, respect, and understanding for our faculty, staff, and students. Importantly, we must demonstrate these same tenets in our wider community. Countless college and university mission statements include the terms community, collaboration, and diversity. We must do more than use the terms; we must demonstrate these ideas through our actions as these terms alone do not allow institutions to stand boldly and support social justice for all marginalized groups.