Preconference Workshop: Best Practice in Crisis Communications
When a crisis hits a campus, there is so much to handle at any one time that it can be overwhelming—which is why planning is so vital. But what kind of plan should you build, who should be involved, and how do you make sure that your plan addresses all the critical questions that a crisis might raise?
In this hands-on preconference workshop, explore these and other critical matters. Talk through a variety of crisis scenarios—drawing on the experience of both faculty and attendees—and leave with a sound understanding of how to develop a crisis communications plan you can implement at your own institution.
Program
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019
8:00 AM–NOON
When a crisis hits a campus, there is so much to handle at any one time that it can be overwhelming. You may ask yourself: What kind of plan should you build? Who should be involved? How do you make sure that your plan addresses all the critical questions that a crisis might raise—for you and your team, and for those whose support and involvement you will require in a crisis?
Meanwhile, if your institution already has built a solid crisis communications plan, what have you learned through creating and testing it? What insights can you share, and gain from others, who have been on the frontlines of managing crisis communications?
In this hands-on workshop, we will explore these and other critical matters, such as:
- the essentials of any campus crisis communications strategy today
- key protocols and questions
- what is often missed
- what we would do differently if we could do it all over again
Because this workshop is designed to show you how plans can be put into practice, we will talk through a variety of crisis scenarios together and put ourselves through the paces of trying to meet—and live—the challenges that several could bring. Drawing on the experience of the faculty and attendees alike, you will leave with a sound understanding of how to develop a crisis communications plan that you can implement at your own institution.
Preconference Workshop Speaker
Pete Mackey
Across more than 25 years of communications leadership in higher education, Pete Mackey has become a specialist in institutional branding, communications strategies, media management, team-building and perceptions research that leads to meaningful return on investment.
Before establishing his consulting practice, Mackey served as the founding chief communications officer at four different institutions—Amherst College, Bucknell University, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and Science Foundation Ireland—and led communications for the University of South Carolina. Today his clients include large research universities, liberal arts colleges, research foundations and small businesses. In addition to his consulting practice, he runs the Future Sessions Strategy Bootcamp for non-profit communications staff.