It's important to understand who is sitting at the table when it comes to critical institutional decisions. It's even more telling who is NOT sitting at the table.

Today's conversation is focused on both the HOW and WHY of "return to campus" decisions that are made for Fall 2020. Presidents are under intense financial and political pressures (from all sides) to make the right decision, while considering the impact it will have on students, faculty, staff and the entire community.

My guest is Kevin McClure, PhD., an Associate Professor at University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Kevin recently wrote an article that outlined his research on who served on these committees, and sometimes, who was left out.  He discusses the Presidential messaging cues that seem misguided, using Mitch Daniels (Purdue), and John Jenkins (Notre Dame) as important examples. He also cites Michael Sorrell (Paul Quinn) and Katherine Newman (UMASS-Boston) as providing great examples of WHY they made the decisions they did on behalf of their institutions.

As we continue to read re-opening decisions, keep this conversation in mind, and ask yourself "did the announcement tell me WHY they made this decision? Or just HOW they were going to execute it? That distinction is important.