Date of Award

Fall 12-1-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Kandace Hinton

Second Advisor

Mary Howard-Hamilton

Third Advisor

Meredith Beers

Abstract

Challenges in higher education continue to arise, providing administrators with insights into how prepared—or unprepared—their institutions may be for future crises. The purpose of the study is to examine how mid-level leadership, staff, and students perceived the disaster response to Hurricane Ida during the 2021–2022 academic year. Using the theoretical frameworks of the Four-Frame Model (Bolman & Deal, 2021), Critical Race Theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017), and Institutional Theory (Manning, 2018), this case study employed interviews with 8 participants. Data analysis resulted in the emergence of 7 major themes and 11 sub-themes. The findings from the study suggest that participants recalled receiving varying frequencies of communications from their university, multiple sources of information were utilized, leading to rumormongering, student and employees determined evacuation plans independent of their university communications, the flow of information following a vertical coordination structure, universities generally adopted a student-centered approach, institutions showed varying levels of disaster preparedness, and students experienced resource disparities. Implications from the study are institutions of higher education (IHE) survey various stakeholders on preferred messaging sources during a hurricane event; consider certificate programs for managers, implement training for all employees, and establish continuity plans and SOPs; consideration for academic deadlines for graduate students; enhance messaging during all phases of a disaster among marginalized students; create a position to aid in implementing the suggested recommendations to enhance crisis event preparedness and outcomes for all stakeholders.

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