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Abstract
Presidents of large, public research universities must communicate effectively to have a successful presidency. In today’s world of social media and other forms of instant and ubiquitous communication, presidents need to make quick yet careful decisions about their messages. Higher education stakeholders expect frequent, personal, and authentic communication from their institution’s leader, and a misstep can bring about the end of a presidency. The purpose of this study is to explore whether university presidents are willing to speak out on controversial or politically sensitive issues and how stakeholders and the president’s political capital influence their communication decisions. In this study, the researcher attempts to extract which stakeholder groups have the most influence on presidential communication. The information obtained through interviews with five research university presidents and their chiefs of staff, communications directors, and government relations directors provides insight into how decisions are made regarding presidential communication and what factors are considered, including the influence of stakeholders and political capital. Higher education presidents and their senior advisors can use the insights gained through this research to consider (a) if and how they want to speak out on national issues, (b) how they are engaging with stakeholders, (c) which stakeholders they are primarily engaging, and (d) what they are doing to earn and leverage their political capital through communication. The findings may corroborate their own practices and beliefs, or they may introduce them to new ideas and practices that can enhance their communication.