Two ARHU Faculty Win Coronavirus Seed Grants
UMD Division of Research announced nine recipients of Coronavirus Research Seed Fund Awards, including two from ARHU.
Brooke Liu, Professor, Department of Communication
Universities’ Coronavirus Crisis Management: Challenges, Opportunities, and Initial Lessons Learned
Abstract:
As the coronavirus spread around the world, more than a thousand U.S. universities migrated instruction online. While we do not yet know the full impact of the pandemic, we know that the impact is immense. To meet the challenge of responding to the coronavirus, higher education leaders are rapidly innovating. These leaders would benefit from systematically learning how their peers are managing the pandemic. This project asks: How have U.S. higher education institutions planned for and responded to the COVID-19 pandemic? What challenges do they face, how have they overcome obstacles, and what lessons have they learned? This study answers these questions through longitudinal interviews with 40-50 higher education leaders who are part of their institutions’ crisis management teams. The study also conducts textual analysis of materials provided by these leaders and found online. Findings will inform institutions’ coronavirus responses while they continue to face this unprecedented crisis. Findings also can inform planning for future mega crises, which is especially important given the relative dearth of research on higher education crisis management.
Sun Young Lee, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication
How Companies Are Responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic: Their Roles, Strategies, and Effectiveness in Promoting the Public Good
Abstract:
The purpose of the project is to examine how companies are responding to the pandemic as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and the effects of their efforts at preventing, controlling, and responding to the outbreak for their stakeholders and for U.S. society at large. Study 1 will examine what kinds of efforts companies have made in response to the pandemic; then Study 2 will test the effectiveness of various types of company messages in promoting the public good.
