Campus Technology has a great article that walks readers through a text messaging response to armed robbery suspects fleeing to Napa Valley College.  It was interesting to see what the college thought worked well and read the anecdotes of how the availability of technology aided and hurt the response. 

Interestingly, the suspects entered the campus library to blend in and found an advantage: "students, who were able to use the library's computers, were sharing information among themselves--including the assailants--in real time, which meant the suspects knew what was going on outside."  Thankfully the suspects surrendered and all ended well.

For your next crisis tabletop drill, make sure you discuss more than just sending out a text message to the campus--talk through the possibility of sending out more than one message and incorporate complications like those Napa Valley College faced.  If nothing else, it will help you to prepare for the complexity of an actual crisis.

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

As of this morning, the media are reporting probable cases of Swine Flu at the University of Delaware, Notre Dame, San Diego State University and California State University at Long Beach.  Campuses have large populations of people living in close proximity, some of whom traveled to Mexico for Spring Break, so this should come as little surprise.  Click here to view the messaging occurring on the University of Delaware website.

If you are interested in tracking the swine flu in higher education institutions (including the diagnosis status of those infected), click on this link to a Google Map of the United States.

So, what should you be doing from a planning standpoint?  First, take a deep breath.  Then begin drafting proactive communications that you can share internally and with parents of current students about your pandemic planning efforts.  Next, develop a course of action should you have probable or confirmed cases of H1N1 that break out as students are leaving campus or once students have left campus but could have been spread while the students were on campus.  The more information you can share, the better.  Remember that you are reassuring your key audiences that you are actively planning (not sure anyone can ever be truly prepared) and that you value their personal health and the transparency of the institution.

Finally, make sure that you are keeping in close contact with your local department of health.  Your approaches to the situation, should you have Swine Flu cases, needs to be seamless.

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

This week's hot topic is pandemic flu, so I dusted off my resource list and sent it to some of my friends this morning... thought I should share it on our blog, too J.  Swine or Avian flu, the response is the same.  I'm also linking to my recent blog posting about infectious disease, because a number of those points apply here, too.   

General Information

• PandemicFlu.gov: http://pandemicflu.gov/
• Center for Disease Control Pandemic Flu Information: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/

 World Health Organization

• Ten things you need to know about pandemic influenza: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/pandemic10things/en/index.html
• Avian influenza (bird flu) Fact Sheet: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/avian_influenza/en/index.html
• Avian Influenza Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/avian_faqs/en/index.html 
• Current WHO Pandemic Alert Phase: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/phase/en/index.html
• Avian Influenza: Assessing the Pandemic Threat: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/WHO_CDS_2005_29/en/index.html 
• National Influenza Pandemic Plans http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/nationalpandemic/en/index.html

Higher Education Sites and Planning

• http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/collegeschecklist.html
• Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Association: http://www.cshema.org/resource/pandemic0306.htm  
• Blueprint for Pandemic Flu Preparedness Planning for Colleges and Universities: http://www.ajg.com/portal/communities/community.asp?UserID=2&CommunityID=440  
• Federal Checklist for Higher Education: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/school/collegeschecklist.html#1

General Planning

• http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/
• http://mercerhr.com/avianflu
• http://www.hhs.gov/pandemicflu/plan/sup8.html

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

Not sure if you have been following the drama surrounding the two Domino's employees who thought a YouTube video of disgusting behavior was actually cute...  Regardless, Domino's is in crisis mode and has launched a major damage control campaign online, in local communities, etc.  I wanted to make sure you saw a video corporate Domino's uploaded to show their remorse and their forward movement.  They have also made inroads on many other online resources including Twitter, blogs, etc.  In today's world, you can't forget sites like Twitter and their influence... see this Ad Age article on surviving a "Twitterstorm."

When viewing this, I want you to pay closer attention to the words, not the video portion itself.  How can you have stock messages ready for crises that can be personalized for the situation?  How can you match the speaker to the situation?  And how can you train your speaker to show a bit more emotion and connection?

USA Today has a great article on the Domino's situation and steps for defending yourself against a social networking attack including: monitor social media, respond quickly, respond at the flashpoint, educate workers, foster a positive culture, and set clear guidelines.  Ad Age also posted an article of recommended steps that can help should you find yourself in a fight for your reputation.

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

I want for everyone to take a moment of silence and reflection for Michigan's Henry Ford Community College, which had an on-campus shooting today.

But, I believe their experience, which as I type is still unfolding, has an immediate lesson to share.  Reason number 4,393,457,394,857 why your campus communicators need media training... the training makes clear to all communicators who can and can't speak on behalf of the institution and what they should or shouldn't say to frame the situation.

The last line of the CNN coverage at 3:30 PM today says: "A woman who answered the phone in the office of the school's president, Gail Mee, said that the shootings occurred in the Fine Arts Building and that the campus was in lockdown."  It would be more settling for the community to know who answered the phone, what next steps are occurring (said in a way that doesn't place others in harm's way, and how additional information would be disseminated.  Even in the midst of a crisis, remember that your initial response will set the tone for how you are judged both short- and long-term.

Please click here for a screen capture of the original CNN coverage and a screen capture of the message scrolling on the community college's site.  Remember to think through the messages that you place on the front page of your website--just saying you have an emergency doesn't provide enough information to those internally or externally to process the situation, let people know what to expect next, explain how to get additional information or if they should stay off of campus.  An emergency and lockdown are very different scenarios.  Remember your goals include providing information efficiently and effectively.

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

There is a story in today's University Affairs that talks about "Communicating in Bad Times."  I strongly encourage you to read the article.  It aligns with this spring's most relevant crisis planning topic--communicating through the down economy, which has dominated quite a bit of my time.  Click here for a copy of the presentation I gave to the AASCU's senior communicators on crisis communications, with special attention given to the economy. 

The gist of the article and my mantra these days: don't forget to communicate with your key audiences with the format and information (both scope and depth) that they want.

Over the past few months I have developed a list of topics all institutions may need to communicate through, including:

•  Decreased endowment (overall levels and amount dispersed from earnings)
• Faculty/staff layoffs
• High profile donor pledge default
• Decreases in annual giving or major gift donations
• Completing (or not completing) a campaign in tough times
• Launching a new program in a down economy
• Decreases in new student enrollment
• Decreases in student retention
• Decreases in diversity
• Decreases in state/public funding·     
• Questions about the salaries for your leadership, coaches, etc.

I hope you don't have to work through these issues, but if you do it will pay dividends to create and roll out a strategy that builds trust and communications vehicles before and after sharing your news.

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

True irony in this blog posting... I was out sick with the flu the latter part of this week while two of our higher ed friends battled infectious diseases. 

Michigan State University closed a dining hall on Thursday after 20 students had "stomach distress" that the campus believes is tied to "food safety" and today was confirmed as norovirus.  And Babson College closed the campus this past weekend after a norovirus outbreak.  Screenshots of their website can be found by clicking here.

Elizabeth was able to make contact with Babson to send our support, and she heard back the following from Grant Gosselin, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions: "It's been quite an experience.  I met as a team of about 25 key community members on Saturday morning at 9:30 - by 5:00 the campus was closed.  Communications in place, dining services converted to take-out dining (in three hours' time), press conference scheduled, cleaning regiment in place, and on and on and on."

Either case would be a great case study for you to share at a cabinet meeting for a tabletop testing of your crisis communications plan.  Take a look at Babson's website language--are there elements you can use as draft language in your planning process, or can you improve upon their strategy?

About two years ago pandemic flu was all of the rage in crisis planning.  Don't forget about pandemic flu, but remember that the situations MSU and Babson faced this week are more likely to occur.  Don't forget the mumps outbreaks in the Midwest two years ago, or the meningitis outbreaks that continually pop up.  Ensure your crisis plan covers all possible heath scenarios.

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

Yesterday the verdict was delivered in the civil lawsuit former Professor Ward Churchill filed against the University of Colorado.  The jury found in favor of Mr. Churchill and awarded him damages of $1.  The news came right around 4 p.m.--perfect timing for the evening news to carry the story as a teaser and lead with the jury's decision.

Except... yesterday was also the day that the Denver Broncos were able to reach an agreement on a trade for quarterback Jay Culter to the Chicago Bears for a quarterback and a host of draft picks. 

The 5 p.m. newscast of the most-watch local television news station didn't include an update on Ward Churchill's jury verdict until 5:08 p.m., following Cutler, traffic, economy update (yay DOW!) and weather news.  The 6 p.m. newscast had the story second to the Cutler trade. 

As was covered in the trial, at the time of the Churchill investigation, the media ran rampant with coverage of the story and it was all the university could do to conduct daily business.  I know--I was there.  Amazing how a bigger story in this media market and four years can change the fervor of the media consumption of this story.

Sometimes timing is everything, even if you don't have control over the variables.

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

I've been recommending to my crisis clients that they get involved in social networking well in advance of any crisis situation so that they have an established presence and are well versed in the technology before a crisis hits.  The networks we discuss these days, of course, have to include Twitter.  Last week I presented on this topic at the CASE I conference in Boston, and this week I walked a client through the application's benefits as an internal and external communications tool.

I figured I should follow my own advice and yesterday finally set up my own Twitter account.  I would LOVE to follow any of your institutions that are using Twitter to communicate to their audiences--send me an email to tvp@SimpsonScarborough.com with your username or link to me via Twitter (user name tvparrot).

I also wanted to pass along an opportunity with a colleague I admire tremendously.  Cindy Lawson, of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, is presenting an audio conference with Higher Ed Hero on using social media during a crisis.  She and I chatted for at least half an hour this morning about how to use social media to an institution's advantage.  If this topic excites you as much as it does the two of us, you are in for a treat.

If you don't yet Twitter I invite you to join me on the other side!!

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

Just in case you didn't see it this weekend, click on the video link below to see a reporter inquiry about UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun's salary during a state budget crunch. I'm not going to get into the pros and cons of Coach Calhoun's salary (okay, I lied... it is a competitive market.  The free market hiring rules all colleges and universities use would have to change significantly should this be a priority.  But, coaches should have thick enough skin to respond to questions about their compensation and any return on investment to their athletic department), but I can tell you that budget scenarios are going to continue to make people's blood boil.

Make sure that the public faces of your institution are prepared to answer questions about their professional and personal budgets.  You can't limit the reporter's ability to ask compensation questions, so prepare your university officials' responses.

-Teresa Valerio Parrot