Academic leadership is often framed as an exercise in “managing down”: guiding faculty, resolving disputes, or supporting students. Yet the real test of effective leadership may lie in the opposite direction: managing up and forging alliances with colleagues across the campus. Department chairs, directors, and deans must learn not only to advocate for their department’s needs with those who hold the purse strings but also to collaborate laterally in a world of shrinking resources and growing complexity.
From “Rename and Remain” to “Reframe and Regain”: Reimagining Campus Inclusiveness
In my last article, I highlighted the crucial strategies of “person-first” and “targeted universalism” amid the wave of anti-DEI legislation in higher education. Initially, many of us embraced a “rename
Molly Kerby
July 7, 2025
