ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of relevant background information on the topic of crisis and explains the types of crises that may directly influence leaders in higher education. It describes prominent characteristics and principles for effective crisis leadership during these challenging moments. With roots in the corporate sector, much of the scholarly and professional literature on the topic of organizational crisis has centered on the principles and practices of crisis management. One model divides crisis management into five phases: signal detection, probing and prevention, damage containment, recovery, and learning. The view of crisis leadership helps to better explain the broader array of factors through which crises unfold and can help leaders to better understand and sometimes shape the evolution of such events and situations at their institutions. Higher education news outlets and general news outlets often report on the array of disruptive events that are affecting colleges and universities.
