The purpose of this study was to determine best practices of leadership communication during and after organizational crises at colleges and universities that threaten the safety of stakeholders. Crises that impact colleges and universities are increasing, and if the leaders in these organizations communicate improperly throughout crisis incidents, the organizations' reputation may suffer serious damage. Leaders must use communication strategies that prevent or minimize damage to their organizations. The systematic review methodology was utilized to conduct a qualitative analysis and synthesis of more than 30 relevant empirical studies. The study also used Coombs' Situational Crisis Communications Theory and key initial crisis communication best practices as a framework to answer the research question, "what are communication strategies that colleges and universities should use for institutional crisis situations that threaten the safety of their stakeholders?" Findings included 11 crisis communication strategies effective for responding to crises. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]