Transforming Leadership and Planning in Nigerian Public Universities

The fast-changing global landscape marked by economic fluctuations, political unrest, social inequality, environmental challenges, and technological advancements has placed increasing pressure on these institutions to evolve. As such, thus study examined the transformation of public university planning and leadership using resilience, courage, fairness, and compassion as benchmarks. Four objectives, four research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach. The target population includes faculty members, non-academic staff, and doctoral students in public universities in Rivers State. The sample consisted of 600 respondents—faculty members, non-academic staff, and doctoral students, respectively. A self-structured 22-item questionnaire tagged the “Transformation of Public University Planning and Leadership” was developed to assess stakeholders’ perceptions. The internal consistency was verified using Cronbach's alpha, and reliability indices of α = .888 and .867 were obtained, respectively. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29 to perform the descriptive statistics that answered the research questions, while Kendall’s Tau-b was employed and tested at .05 level of significance. The study found that institutional resilience ensures that universities can withstand and learn from disruptions, allowing them to continue fulfilling their educational missions in times of crisis. Institutional courage empowers leaders to break from traditional norms, pursue innovative solutions, and foster environments where bold ideas can thrive. Institutional fairness guarantees that universities remain equitable, providing all students, staff, and faculty with the resources, opportunities, and support they need to succeed, regardless of their backgrounds. And institutional compassion fosters a university culture that prioritizes the well-being of its community members and ensures that students and staff alike are supported in their personal and professional growth. Recommendations were proffered.