Leaders become very familiar with leading through crises. We know how to deploy crisis response teams, expand communications, focus on triage, and prepare for the post-crisis recovery.

This moment calls for something different: leading through chaos. The speed and recklessness of the recent executive orders impacting higher ed, as well as their resulting cruelty, coupled with the wild way they are rescinded, found to be illegal or even unconstitutional by courts, and backed by conflicting interpretations from different government offices, is making for a truly chaotic climate on campus.

Chaos means confusion, unpredictability, and formlessness. Leading well in its midst is incredibly difficult. A few practical things can help. As you would in a crisis, establish clear lines of campus communication. Let your constituents know when they can expect to hear from you. Establish a “hotline” to triage and direct urgent calls or emails. Be disciplined about sharing only the most reliable information. Reinforce your institution’s values in word and deed at every point possible. And gather a diverse group of advisors to assist you in effective, rapid decision making.

But chaos calls for even more. In moments of confusion, leaders must be pillars of stability and clarity. Here is what I have been recommending to presidents, provosts, and trustees over the past few weeks.

First, identify the areas of focus that are immediately relevant to your campus. These probably include some or all of the following: gender, diversity/inclusion, immigration, research funding. For each area, make a list of everything relevant that is not changing. What remains stable in the midst of chaotic orders? For example, on your campus it might be that you will carry on with enrollment of non-binary students or reinforce that your religious mission continues to call you to welcome the stranger. Whatever is and feels stable right now is helpful to list.

Your next list should be for those things that are definitely changing. This list is probably smaller than you think. Read the orders carefully. Seek high quality legal advice. Work with your state and national organizations. See what applies to your campus, and don’t be swept up into larger forces of “what ifs.” For example, the order banning “illegal” DEI activities might have little immediate bearing on your campus since your programs do not break the law. Supporting veterans, assisting first generation students, providing gender neutral bathrooms, helping students plan a celebration of Black history—none of those are now illegal or discriminatory as I write this. What has changed is the climate surrounding such efforts, the ways the federal government will collect data, and added scrutiny of anything that could be considered exclusionary or “reverse” discrimination on the basis of race or gender. Another example is that while Title IX continues to be in force, what has changed is that the federal government has returned to an earlier set of guidance on how it is to be interpreted. Be accurate as you make your list and as you develop internal changes in response to what is happening externally.

A third list—of things that might change—is also useful. If nothing else, it is a place to list your greatest worries and hopes. You can assign members of your team to monitor and prepare to advise you should some of these things occur. But take a beat before you assume that every executive order is an immediate and definite change. We are starting to see a pattern of orders either rescinded or under review. The courts are regularly issuing limits and stays on these orders. Obviously, you’ll need to follow the advice from your own legal counsel.

Review and revise your lists weekly—maybe even daily. The lists give you a useful framework for effectively communicating to your students and other constituents: this is what has changed, this is how it affects our campus, this is what we are doing to accommodate this change, and this is what will never change for us.

Finally, and perhaps most important of all, communicate compassionately to your community. They need to hear that you love each student, that you care for each member of the faculty and staff. They need to know that you will follow the law and that you will continue to pursue the unique mission of your institution as fully and fearlessly as possible.

Catching up with Kathy Humphrey, president of Carlow University (PA), at the 2025 Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities Annual Meeting.

January and February are the busiest months for national gatherings of presidents. In addition to our own Presidents Institute, I was able to attend several other DC gatherings, including the meetings of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (i.e., CIC’s sister organization that focuses on federal policy and advocacy), and the American Council for Education. Whew!

It was wonderful to spend time with so many dedicated leaders and to see so many examples of steady leadership in the midst of chaos. I was especially inspired by the hundreds of colleges and universities on Capitol Hill advocating to Congress about the essential role higher education plays in American prosperity and safety. This is not a moment to keep quiet or avoid political engagement.

Spring Workshops for Department and Division Chairs are open for registration.

CIC has been able to offer new Meeting the Moment grants to our State Councils and to members of our Belong network to support their efforts to provide accurate information, informed support, and insight to members of our campus communities.

A Spark of Inspiration

Something has shifted for the better in my yoga practice. For the first time ever—after years of classes—I am starting to experience the various “inner” yoga benefits so often promised. For a long time, yoga has been a beloved form of physical exercise. I like the way it is low impact, stretchy, heart healthy. But the supposed spiritual benefits never seemed to quite take. Unlike most of the yogis I know, I always hated the ending pose—shavasana—where we lie like corpses, relaxed and meditative. Not me. My hyperactive brain was always judging, planning, rushing. In the last six months though that has all changed. I am totally present in the practice—connected in mind, body, and spirit. The stillness at the end of class is deeply calming and refreshing.

What caused this change? I racked my brain. I am at a new studio. I like the teachers and the vibe there. The classes fit into my schedule. But all of that has been true in the past too. The big difference turns out to be one simple thing: this studio has no mirrors. All of my previous yoga experiences were in studios set up with a mirrored wall toward which the class orients itself. Just like the ballet studios of my childhood where I first learned to develop physical technique. When I practiced yoga at home or in a hotel room, I naturally did so in front of a mirror as well. How else to check for alignment? How else to notice development? How else to be sure I was doing it right? Aha. It turns out those mirrors might have been making my yoga look better but they brought with them a split consciousness. They magnified the constant, muted voice of self-judgement honed in those ubiquitous dance classes of my childhood and adolescence. Without the mirrors, my mind and body are no longer run on separate tracks. I practice improving alignment from the inside rather than the outside. I judge the depth of the pose by how it feels instead of how it looks.

What a difference that makes. I wonder where else actual or metaphorical mirrors are getting in the way of a better way of doing and being.

Critical Pedagogy and the Trouble with Consciousness Raising

by Zachary A. Casey

I am getting a lot out of this book by my former Rhodes College colleague. He argues that a critical pedagogy that fails to move from the transformation of consciousness to action in the world has failed to meet its radical promise. This is an especially important recognition at a time when performative politics is both ubiquitous and impotent. Expect to encounter a Marxist orientation and a focus on pedagogy in both the primary classroom and the university one.

Dreaming in Dark Times: Six Exercises in Political Thought

by Sharon Sliwinski

This is a fascinating exploration of the potential meanings of specific recurring dreams in the lives of six world changing thinkers, including Mandela, Fanon, and World War One poet Wilfred Owen. In Sliwinski’s psychoanalytic view, dreams serve as one way we negotiate and resist power and as a way of experiencing thoughts too disruptive for conscious knowledge. Her exercises in finding dream meaning are at once fascinating and hopeful.

The Book of All Books

by Roberto Calasso

Am I the last person to discover the power of Calasso’s nonfiction? Encountering this polymath and his wide-ranging reading of the Hebrew bible was mind-blowing in itself and immediately sent me to his other works in this genre. I love his unique voice and the way he retells familiar stories with new emphasis and meaning, drawing on traditional and modern sources.

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