Organizational Change as a Result of Campus Crisis

Preparing for Campus Disasters:
Best Practices and Suggested Steps
Mahauganee D. Shaw
Indiana University
Lowell K. Davis, PhD
The University of Alabama
Presentation at the American College Personnel Association Annual Conference * Baltimore, MD * March 30, 2011

• Learn how campus crises are defined and classified
• Highlight examples of campus crises
• Discuss best practices in campus crisis management
• Discuss how preparation affects an institution’s ability to
respond
• Practice working through the crisis response process
Objectives

DEFINING CAMPUS CRISES

Lerner, Volpe, & Lindell (2004) formally defined crisis as “a
traumatic event that seriously disrupts our coping and problemsolving
abilities”
Seymour and Moore (2000) defined a crisis as a “disruption of
normal patterns of corporate activity by a sudden or overpowering
and initially uncontrollable event” (p. 10).
Zdziarski (2006) expanded the definition of crisis further as “an
event, often sudden and unexpected, that disrupts the normal
operations of the institution or its educational mission and threatens
the well-being of personnel, property, financial resources, and/or
reputation of the institution” (p. 5).
What is a disaster or a
crisis?

• Three considerations:
• Level of crisis
• Type of crisis
• Intentionality*
• Process of classification guides the appropriate response
Classifying Campus Crisis

Critical
Incident
Campus
Emergency
Disaster
• Effects a segment of campus or a subgroup
• Normal operations continue
• Effects entire campus
• Disrupts normal operations
• Effects campus and surrounding community
• Usual resources are delayed or unavailable
Levels of Crisis
Zdziarski, Dunkel, Rollo, & Associates (2007)

Environmental
Facility
Human
Types of Crisis
• Originates in the environment or
nature
• Example: earthquake, flood, hurricane
• Originates in a facility or structure
• Example: power outage, bldg. fire
• Originates with or initiated by humans
• Example: traffic accident, mental
health issues, criminal acts
Zdziarski, Dunkel, Rollo, & Associates (2007)

September 11 th
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma and Ike
Virginia Tech Massacre
Floods in Iowa
• What did your institution do after these events?
• Was your campus prepared?
• Are there other disasters that could impact your campus?
Examples of Disasters

Post-Crisis
Phase
Recovery
Learning
Response
Crisis Phase
Planning
Prevention
Crisis Management Cycle
Reproduced from Campus Crisis Management (p. 47), by E. L. Zdziarski, II, J. M. Rollo, N. W. Dunkel, and Associates,
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Copyright 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Pre-Crisis
Phase

Proactive Crisis Management
Signal
Detection
Preparation
/ Prevention
Crisis
Learning
Containment/
Damage
Limitation
Interactive Crisis Management
Reactive Crisis Management
(“Crash Management”)
Recovery
Crisis Management Cycle
Reproduced from Transforming the Crisis-Prone Organization (p. 135), by T. C. Pauchant and I.I. Mitroff, 1992, San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Copyright 1992 by Jossey-Bass Inc.

PREPARING FOR CRISES

• Construct a representative Crisis Management Team
• Access to information and resources
• Individual skill sets
• Group dynamics
• Develop a written crisis response plan
• Which crises should be included?
• How extensive should the plan be?
• Communication during crisis
• Spider web effect (Paterson, 2006)
Best Practices from
Literature

• Campus Threat Assessment Planning and Information
Sharing
• Enabling Learning Objectives
• Integrated Response to Campus Emergencies Using
NIMS (National Incident Management System) and ICS
(Incident Command System)
• Communicating in a Crisis
• Recovery: A Continuing Process
• Going Forward: Planning for the Future
• Testing and Administration
Best Practices from
NCBRT Courses

• Develop a plan for the continuity of all campuses services
• Partner with other local colleges
• Use community resources
• Think outside the box and be open to possibilities
• Think locally as well as regionally
• A time of crisis is not the time to hoard information
• Know and accept that you (most likely) won’t be
prepared for everything
• Learn institutional strengths and weaknesses
• When in doubt, call the attorney
Best Practices from Our
Experiences

CASE STUDY

Situation #1: When meeting with his academic advisor (a Latina
woman), John became frustrated, pounded his fist on the desk one time,
and stated that his advisor did not know “what the f*** she was doing”
and that she should “get another job, like harvesting vegetables” where
she could “speak her language and be with her people”.
Situation #2: During his judicial hearing, John became angry, pounded
his fist on the desk, and made accusations that his rights as a person
with a disability were being violated both in the judicial process and in
his academic program. He states that he would be writing a letter of
complaint to the University President and contacting the Office of Civil
Rights. He also told the hearing office (an African American man),
“Hey boy, you’ll need a lawyer soon”.
Situation #3 : After the hearing, John was angry, yelled “NIU sucks!”
in the hallway and slammed his room door. His roommae reported to the
RA that later that evening John stated, “I’m like the shooter at Virginia
Tech”.
Case Study #1 – Situations

• What type of crisis is this?
• What level of crisis is this?
• Based on the threat assessment matrix, what strategies
would you suggest to manage this crisis? Why?
Discussion Questions

• Be proactive…avoid the reactive
• Colleges and universities must prepare to respond to and
manage campus crises, regardless of size, location, or type
• Understand your student culture and climate
• Crisis response is everyone’s job. We all have a part to
play!
Final Thoughts

Mahauganee D. Shaw
shawmd@indiana.edu
Questions?
Lowell K. Davis, PhD
lkdavis2@sa.ua.edu