No place for hatred: university presidents’ responses to Charlottesville

ABSTRACT

This study examined 32 university presidents’ responses to the violence that occurred during and after a ‘Unite the Right’ white supremacist rally in Charlottesville Virginia in August 2017. The purpose of this study was to explore how university presidents provided leadership during this crisis and how they did or did not utilise sensemaking to guide their communities. Findings revealed that presidents’ primary foci were to reassure their communities, express solidarity with those in Charlottesville, review First Amendment rights, and emphasise that their campuses were not places for hatred. Additionally, it was noted that few presidents actually named the victims of the Charlottesville violence or addressed the systemic racism that contributed to the violence.

KEYWORDS:

• Charlottesville
• sensemaking
• crisis leadership
• diversity
• higher education
• university Presidents

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.