I was honored to be asked by Gretchen Bataille and Diana Cordova to contribute a chapter to a book entitled, Managing the Unthinkable: Crisis Preparation and Response for Campus Leaders. The book was released this week and is worthy of a read and place on your bookshelf for future reference.
I highly encourage you to take a look—the book includes an impressive lineup of higher education contributors including presidents, communicators, attorneys and industry professionals. We all have one commonality—we have worked on crisis responses and share personal stories. It’s a practical guide with first person perspective and behind-the-scenes insight into some crises you will recognize.
The format is as follows:
- Part One: Preparing for and Managing a Crisis
- Part Two: Accidents, Catastrophes, and Natural Disasters
- Part Three: Building a Team: Shared Responsibilities
- Part Four: Dealing With the Media: Who to Tell What and When
- Part Five: Remembrance and Healing
My chapter is housed in part four of the book and focuses on “Working Effectively With the Media: Advice From the Frontline.” I shared tips from years of crisis work with campuses and was lucky enough to include interviews with Inside Higher Ed editor Doug Lederman, American Council on Education’s VP and communications guru Tim McDonough and Frostburg State University President Jonathan Gibralter. I have to admit it was pretty cathartic to make Doug answer questions for once.
Let me know what you think of the book once you’ve read it and feel free to share recommendations for other crisis books you’ve found helpful.