Crisis Communications

How to Thrive When a Crisis HitsRosalee Rush, Ph.D.2015-16 American Council on Education (ACE) FellowHome Institution: Bloomsburg University of PennsylvaniaHost Institution: Bucknell University

Crisis DefinedActs of ViolenceNatural Disaster Data BreachBiological HazardsBehavior Threats

In 2015, there were an estimated 23 acts of violence on college campuses across the United States.Natural Disaster (fires, floods, tornadoes, etc.) The number of natural disasters occurring worldwide in 2015 were an estimated 198 (Insurance Information Institute, according to Swiss Re.) Globally, terrorism attacks are on the rise.No longer a question of if a crisis will occur, but when.2

Bloomsburg Flood of September 2011

On September 8, 2011, Tropical Storm Lee unleashed more than a foot of rain in places from Louisiana to New York. The flood caused the Susquehanna River to crest at 32.75 feet on Sept. 9. President Obama had declared 42 areas in Pennsylvania, including Bloomsburg, and 15 in New York as disaster areas. The flood had destroyed more than 25 percent of homes and possession in Town of Bloomsburg. 3

Crisis Communication PlanEssential component of crisis management planningDiscuss your goals and objectives for the crisis communicationsDefine key stakeholdersDetermine who will communicate with each groupIdentify the official spokesperson(s)

No amount of planning, tabletop exercises, etc. will prepare you for a crisisThe checklist from the training manual goes out the doorEssential to pull your crisis/emergency management team together immediately to define command structure and parametersOnce situation assessed, second goal was to determine our communication strategy Important to define, at onset, who will be authorized to speak about the crisis and when equip every person on the tracking media coverage with key messages and phone numbers.Also, designate someone to prepare individuals to speak 4

Effective CommunicationsCommunicate first & oftenOnly convey known factsMonitor news sources (especially social media)Communicate via your constituents most preferred medium

Our #1 priority is the safety of our students, faculty and staffEstablish yourself as the official communicationCarefully craft messages, being sensitive to those impacted and as not create mass hysteria Make sure you have consensus on messagesIts okay to say we do not have all the facts at this time. We will issue updates when more information is known.Only communicate when have new informationUse every vehicle available to you. We utilized student media and bloggers as extensions of our PR team

Its important to note that communication does not end because the immediate danger has passed. Its just beginning. We had to swift our messages to reflect needs and resources for our internal community. How were we going to assist students, faculty and staff affected? How will course time be made up? When should students return to campus? Etc.5

Lessons LearnedFlexibilityAgilityRotation of rolesMeasure communication sentiments

Soft release of students strategic decision to delay cancellation of classes b/c roads underwater , people trapped on highways wanted to ensure the safety of students. Did not want students attempting to get on the roads.Classes cancelled for 10 days developed creative academic plan to make-up loss of instruction timeThe university lost 7 days of instruction. Leadership decided not to extend the semester. Rather, to develop a creative solution by adjusting class periods, scheduling additional sessions as necessary (including on Saturdays) and establish alternative methods for students to achieve all course learning outcomes.

Partnered with Town of Bloomsburg Emergency Management Team to provide water, housing for military troops, students help with recovery efforts. BU faculty and staff manned phone bank at the local Emergency Operations Center, cared fir evacuees pets at animal shelter on campus and pitched in at the Red Cross.Use of technology. Many members of University emergency management team impacted or landlocked. Before equipped everyone with technology to access university systems remotely

We logged every interaction and communication from the onset, including meetings, decisions made, communications sent, time, platform and focus/sentiment and audience. During the debrief of the situation, we were able to see what media platforms were used this most by students and parents, where we excelled with communications, areas for process improvement and outdated modes of communication. How did our community engage with us during this time? What were the sentiments/perceptions of the university during and after this time? We used this information to further enhance/improve the institutions emergency management and crisis communications process.

We did not enter into this crisis with a PR mindset. Our goal was the safety of our students, faculty and staff. However, we could not have imagined the amount of positive press we received from how the crisis was managed, particularly from our students, faculty and staff assisting town residents, some of which were there families, colleagues, friends, and neighbors. The university truly embodied its strategic goal to foster community by being a resource in many ways beyond the academia; providing food and alternative venues for high school activities, etc. The crisis united the university and surrounding community. 6

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