Post-disaster Research Study: An HBCU's Academic Resilience in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria

Abstract

This chapter presents a research study that examined post-disaster authentic university academic care resilience (PAUACR) at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). PAUACR is a university’s and its students’ capacity to bounce back from post-disaster educational challenges. PAUACR requires a strong caring response and authentic academic care environments. For the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), PAUACR following Hurricanes Irma and Maria was crucial to ensure students successfully completed the academic year. To assess UVI’s PAUACR, this study utilized a caring about academic caregiving inventory (CAACI). This 49-item instrument was used to gain students’ discernment of post-disaster authentic university academic care (PAUAC). The research employed a cross-sectional exploratory survey research design. The empirical analysis found associations between the structural workings of UVI’s academic caregiving in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria. These findings offer distinctive indicators of UVI’s PAUACR. Along with the findings, this chapter offers practical lessons of academic resilience drawn from the experience of conducting post-disaster research.

Citation

Francis, K.A. and Hendrickson, K.A. (2023), "Post-disaster Research Study: An HBCU's Academic Resilience in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria", Sengupta, E. (Ed.) Higher Education in Emergencies: Best Practices and Benchmarking (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 53), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 49-65. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120230000053004