Disaster Recovery Journal, Spring 2011

responsible for disseminating emergency information to the media. Typically, the president or chancellor of the university is recognized as the immediate spokesperson who can reassure faculty, staff, students, parents, and the general public as to the appropriate interpretation of an impending crisis.

Though decisions will be made at all levels of the chain of command, communications control makes clear who is responsible for what kinds of decisions and who will communicate the information to whom. These chains of communication typically involve administrators and unit heads within the institution’s existing internal communication network, including key leaders within the student affairs division such as the chief student affairs officer, dean of students, housing and student health directors, student media personnel, and various department heads within individual units.

Campuses also are able to serve as advanced communication hubs given the availability of a variety of electronic networks. Campus-based media not only serve the needs of students, but are equally as effective in reaching the greater community. In addition to electronic media sources such as instant cell phone notices, student media services can perform an important role through campus-managed radio, TV station, and a daily or Web-based student newspaper. These outlets can be helpful in releasing accurate first-hand accounts of events as they unfold and provide the opportunity to contain the endless rumors that circulate within a community responding to a crisis. Given that normal modes of communications may not be available due to lack of electrical power, make advance preparations for critical public announcements and printed news releases.

Campus Resources

During a large-scale community crisis, there is an immediate need for physical facilities large enough to accommodate centralized emergency response teams, information centers, and displaced people seeking shelter. There also might be a need to provide venues large enough to host memorial services and other related events. Above all other resources in most communities, universities and colleges have the requisite number of large-scale facili-

ties and gathering spaces to accommodate masses of people and provide necessary crisis response and management. Facilities include classrooms, buildings, recreational centers, student unions, theatres, and athletic facilities that routinely accommodate significant events and are staffed by dedicated personnel who are trained to manage large occasions and human activities. Most campuses also provide residential and dining facilities with back-up power sources that can be converted to emergency shelters and food distribution centers for the greater community as needed.

Campuses also can provide specialized human resources that are readily accessible including medical professionals, mental health counselors, spiritual leaders, police, risk- management officers, and contracted personnel. The knowledgeable and experienced professionals have been trained to evaluate and manage the elements of a wide variety of crisis situations and frequently serve as first responders. During a medical emergency, related personnel efficiently and accurately will assess the medical and psychological health needs of the campus community and follow with immediate education. Student affairs professionals are the front-line officials who will be asked to lead many of these crisis response efforts because the facilities, personnel, and resources often are under their direct supervision. The campus community also includes a highly sophisticated network of employees among the faculty, staff, and students who are able to perform a variety of support roles in their environment. Further, a reserve of volunteers, alumni, and community supporters can be solicited quickly to provide the necessary human assistance if the crisis calls for it.

Crisis Response Meetings

No crisis management plan can replace scheduled face-to-face meetings among the key leadership professionals during a crisis. The primary purpose of these meetings is to assemble top administrators and crisis management experts to obtain critical information, make decisions efficiently, share responsibilities, prioritize duties, determine schedules, and assign follow-up directives. These meetings demonstrate to the public that the critical leaders are addressing and managing an effective response to the crisis. Further,

they provide leaders with an opportunity for morale building and network support.

A response that is vetted among a larger group improves the quality of decision making. There is an optimal meeting size that reflects the level of involvement of the various campus constituencies. Meetings should include personnel from a variety of critical units within the organizational structure, including student affairs personnel at the health center, residential living, student media, student union, and recreational center. These units are staffed with knowledgeable professionals who are comfortable working with college students and their parents and can communicate the outcome of any campus decision. Further, most student affairs personnel have received training through professional development activities and can be counted on to respond appropriately during a time of crisis.

The frequency of the meetings will be dictated by the level of the crisis. Addressing a campus hurricane, tornado, or flood may require many more meetings than a campus shooting or a student suicide. The timing for these meetings should be scheduled so that the intervening time can be used to manage the crisis, coordinate the communications, and respond to questions and rumors. Further, these meetings should be scheduled in a location separated from external interruptions and annoying distractions.

Human Resource Management

The personal plans and needs of selected unit leaders must become secondary during a campus-based crisis in which skilled professionals are expected to provide essential crisis assistance. Many existing policies frequently require selected administrators to stay on the campus during an emergency, and their job descriptions are written to cover such eventualities. The time demands of campus professionals will expand exponentially according to the scale and scope of the emergency and may require 100 percent effort during an operation that can continue for days, weeks, and even months. Because individual personnel cannot be expected to work 24 hours a day, a rotation system is necessary to provide ongoing critical care.