Iowa Tippie Dean Amy Kristof-Brown: Leading In Uncertain Times

Amy L. Kristof-Brown, Henry B. Tippie dean and professor at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business: “When we know people are struggling, we naturally want to acknowledge that. But the challenges facing higher education today are different, and expressing empathy around issues that divide people politically and culturally can alienate certain groups”

I was named dean of the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business in 2020 — a dream job that I was excited to take on, despite the opportunity coming during a global pandemic. COVID-19 made the day-to-day work different from what I had envisioned while working my way up in the academy, but I was eager for a challenge — and 2020 delivered.

I don’t remember thinking it consciously at the time, but if asked if COVID would be the biggest test I would face as a dean I probably would have said “yes.” Now, I’m not as sure. COVID was an enormous and complex challenge, and I’m hopeful we won’t experience anything quite like it again. But part of what made it so challenging was the anxiety, uncertainty and confusion surrounding it. When looking at it through that lens, 2025 feels similar.

There’s a lot happening in higher education right now, and many of the challenges we’re dealing with will significantly reshape the industry. Some have been anticipated for years—things like the demographic cliff and the rise of AI — giving institutions more time to plan and adapt. But others outside our control have emerged more suddenly, heightening people’s anxieties.

The question for leaders now isn’t how to respond to rapidly changing realities (despite the pressure to do so) but how to lead through them. This is easier said than done. When facing uncertainty, it can feel less risky to pause until the future becomes clearer, just as it can feel safer to say nothing when we don’t have all the answers. But a leader’s job is to provide stability without stalling progress — to ease anxieties while reassuring people that, even without an immediate solution, the problem is being actively addressed. One of the best ways to do this is through clear and consistent communication.

The irony is, of course, that this is difficult to do in times of uncertainty. When information is lacking and the risk of saying the wrong thing is high, it can feel safer to say nothing at all. But in moments of confusion, when anxiety and other emotions are escalating quickly, silence can be just as damaging. In a communications void, manageable issues can quickly become unmanageable crises. And so, we must find ways to communicate openly, even when we don’t have all of the answers.

During the pandemic, many leaders leaned on empathy in the absence of answers. This was important and made sense in a shared pandemic. For many, including myself, the instinct to do so again remains strong. When we know people are struggling, we naturally want to acknowledge that. But the challenges facing higher education today are different, and expressing empathy around issues that divide people politically and culturally can alienate certain groups. In this environment, the most effective and inclusive communications shouldn’t make assumptions about how people feel but instead should reassure everyone: “We see this, we know it’s important, we’re addressing it, we’re available to you, and here are resources you may find helpful.”

Of course, communication is only part of the equation. Leaders can’t just react to change; they must anticipate it and plan for multiple possibilities. As a business school dean, perhaps it’s no surprise that I’ve found value in taking a risk management approach to navigating complex and uncertain environments. One way to do this is to set and focus on goals that you can move forward. For me this means centering our mission and strengths as a school and identifying initiatives that aren’t as affected by uncontrollable variables. For example, we are leaning into Ph.D. education, something that has always been a hallmark of Tippie’s reputation. We’re launching a pre-Ph.D. initiative to help inform and facilitate the application of students to Ph.D. programs. We’re leaning into things we’re committed to longterm, and that help to provide stability to our existing faculty and programs.

Another strategy that I am using much more deliberately lately is futurecasting, which involves considering a range of possible futures and planning how we might react to each. I’ve been making futurecasting a priority topic in meetings as I connect with various teams and departments across the college to help best envision potential scenarios and strategize options moving forward. For challenges we’ve been steadily tracking, like the enrollment cliff, we can look at market research and trends in tandem with our core competencies and focus on choices that best align with them. And for those more nebulous challenges we’re also facing, using this long-term vision for our college can help; we may not know what, exactly, to expect, but we can prepare for various scenarios and shift as the environment dictates without sacrificing our goals.

Using this lens for navigating uncertain times has highlighted the importance of the management element in risk management. Leaders need to focus on the big picture for their schools and institutions, and to do this, we need to be great partners. We need to connect and collaborate with our internal groups and make sure they feel supported and informed, but we also need to gather their insight to help prepare for multiple future outcomes. We are in a unique position in higher education to be able to tap into the expertise of our faculty, many of whom have knowledge and experience relevant to the challenges we’re facing and are willing to help. Being the leader of a business college, I’ve been fortunate to lean into the expertise of our risk management faculty for refreshers on best practices in their fields.

Change has never come quickly to higher ed. Even when it does happen, it’s often framed as rebalancing or recalibration, indicating small or subtle shifts. But current realities require a different approach. We cannot simply make a choice and lean into it. Instead, we need to prepare for multiple options. A volatile and rapidly-changing environment creates confusion and anxiety, making for less-than-ideal conditions for informed decision making and clear communications. But for institutions to continue to be successful, waiting for more clarity to lead is not always an option.

Amy Kristof-Brown is dean of the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa.

DON’T MISS INCREDIBLE IOWA: HOW THE TIPPIE COLLEGE GOT BACK IN THE GAME AFTER ENDING ITS FULL-TIME MBA