Organizational Change as a Function of Disaster Recovery: Lessons from Gulf Coast Institutions

Research on organizational change indicates that higher education institutions change slowly and incrementally over long periods of time. This study posits that, under certain circumstances, institutions can make drastic changes quickly. A collective case study design was used to follow two institutions’ pathways through a disaster management process, in efforts to determine how campus disasters influence change. Information sources included interviews with campus administrators and emergency response team members, institutional documents, and media reports. Findings suggest that a time of crisis operations provides an opportunity to implement organizational changes, and that disasters create a context in which organizational changes can happen quickly and in revolutionary fashion. Implications focus on practical lessons for student affairs and campus emergency managers.