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  • Writer's pictureJoseph Brennan

Object Lesson: the crucial role of trustees in facing crisis

On a foggy December morning in Iowa City, students and professors arriving at the University of Iowa’s campus were greeted by a shocking sight: a 7-foot-tall effigy of a Ku Klux Klansman, dressed in pointed hat and flowing robe. The figure was covered with clippings of newspaper stories depicting lynchings and race riots. A president and a chief communications officer share lessons learned from managing this incident, including tips for what board members can do when their institution is caught in turmoil.


Published in Trusteeship Magazine (July/August 2017). Co-author: Sally K. Mason, president emerita, The University of Iowa.


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