Organizational Resilience in Action: How Faculty Navigate S-STEM Program Implementation Through Adaptive Leadership

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Abstract

This paper examines the experiences of faculty implementing NSF S-STEM scholarship programs at HBCUs. Drawing from a structured listening session with representatives from seven S-STEM programs, we analyze how faculty demonstrate resilience mindsets and practices while navigating recruitment challenges, student engagement difficulties, administrative transitions, and COVID-19 impacts. Using Kantabutra and Ketprapakorn's organizational resilience framework, we examine how leaders adapt inputs (e.g., institutional constraints, student demographics) through resilience practices (e.g., resilience development, knowledge sharing) to produce positive outputs (e.g., enhanced retention, program sustainability). Faculty demonstrated perseverance through recruitment innovations and moderation by eliminating ineffective activities. Findings reveal how faculty resilience enables individual program success and broader institutional change, offering insights for supporting sustainable STEM initiatives in higher education.

Authors

• Taylor Lightner, QEM Network

• Brittany Boyd, American Institutes for Research

• Mercy Mugo, Qem Network

• Ivory A. Toldson, Howard University