Leadership in Brazilian public universities: initiatives conducted by three state universities of Sao Paulo in the context of COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the role of aspects related to public leadership in the actions developed by three state universities in Sao Paulo (Brazil) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, namely the University of Campinas (Unicamp), University of Sao Paulo (USP) and Sao Paulo State University (Unesp) Design/methodology/approach Since this is a viewpoint article, part of the information presented is characterized by the authors' points of view It should be highlighted, however, that the information provided is based on searches in scientific bases, institutional websites and published press reports Findings According to the authors, aspects of public leadership are being properly employed by the public servants of the analyzed universities, resulting in the positive actions that have been implemented Originality/value There is no existing literature on public leadership in these Brazilian universities during the COVID-19 pandemic