December 2023 Courage in Action

In a new essay, Courage Education Advisor Kathryn Becker-Blease and I explain the problem of institutional betrayal in education :

Institutions of higher education thrive when they meet the needs of their members. Yet when members of the university community speak up about harm they have experienced, institutions too often act in ways designed to protect the reputation and comfort of the institution and—worse—abusers within the institution, at the cost of those who have been harmed. This institutional betrayal is especially likely when administrators, staff, faculty, alums, trustees, and students care highly about a highly regarded university. As we have seen time and again, institutional betrayal does not protect the institution in the long run. Instead, the damage to institutions and their leaders when the truth about years-long abuse emerges continues to appear in the press.

And we also discuss the promise of institutional courage, calling upon leaders to be courageous in specific ways:

The antidote to institutional betrayal is institutional courage. Good leaders must personally care and be sure survivors feel they are cared for. Great leaders go beyond that; they institutionalize courage through specific, tangible actions. They create a culture through enduring practices, policies, models, and language that give members of the community the power to respond in ways that meet the courage of abuse survivors and whistle-blowers with the institutional courage to act. In this essay, we describe eleven key actions to promote institutional courage, with key examples of how higher education leaders have empowered their institutions to act with integrity and courage to protect their most vulnerable members for the long-term good of the institution.

Our essay, “Institutionalizing Courage to Create a Safer Community,” was just published in a new open access book, Handbook of Higher Education Leadership, edited by Ed Ray, former president of Oregon State University. You can read or download our chapter about institutionalizing courage here & you can read or download for free the whole handbook here.

We have learned so much about institutional betrayal and courage but much more remains to be discovered. Let’s make 2024 a year of enlightenment. If you are moved by the necessity of this research and wish to contribute to a new round of awards through our Institutional Courage Research Grant program, please consider supporting our grant program.

Jennifer Joy Freyd, PhD
Founder and President
Center for Institutional Courage