Conversations with leaders: Sharing perspectives on the impact of and response to COVID‐19 and other crises

Lessons learned during the COVID‐19 pandemic, through trial and error and sharing stories of successes and failures, have resulted in progress in the quest to resume what we refer to as normal or regular college life for students, faculty, and staff. However, it is doubtful that we will ever get back to the exact same situation that we were in prior to March of 2020, and that may not even be an appropriate goal for which to strive. We can learn from this pandemic and continuously improve what we do based on lessons learned rather than simply focusing on getting back to some sort of prepandemic “normal” state. This article and this entire edition of New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education are part of those efforts to document our experiences so we all can learn from them and move forward with that knowledge in mind.