I’m sure you have seen the articles describing the decrease in women’s submissions to top research journals since the pandemic began in the spring (e.g., Flaherty, 2020, Viglione, 2020). The media has also been full of stories about the toll that working from home is taking on those who have family responsibilities (e.g., Supiano, 2020; Masich et al., 2020). And the justifiable protests over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Daniel Prude, and too many others have created another layer of anxiety on US college campuses (Ellis, 2020). Additionally, as the Fall progresses, the fires in the west and tropical storms in the south and east, and the apprehension surrounding the upcoming presidential election, are combining to create a unique set of stresses facing all of us in higher education.
Connections Are Everything: Putting Relationships at the Heart of Higher Ed
As academic leaders, we are under so much pressure to deliver—enrollment targets, strategic plans, graduation rates, AI policies, and on and on—that we can lose sight of what our students