ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role of the institution and the institutional leader in fostering a learning atmosphere that works effectively with risk and uncertainty. Using the global pandemic and the racial justice movement as contextual backdrops, the chapter explores how we can think of the word “crisis” in both negative and productive ways. Specific examples from higher education are used to illustrate how a leader can help a community move productively through uncertainty along with practical leadership tools and frames of reference. The chapter concludes with an exploration of the notion of “antifragility” and an argument for why we must embrace risk and uncertainty in higher education as central qualities to transformative learning experience—for our students, our institutions, and ourselves.
