September 5, 2002 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s longstanding crisis-communications policy — which it put
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in place because of the risks involved in teaching student pilots — helped it weather its unwilling stint in the international spotlight after September 11, says Lisa L. Ledewitz, the institution’s vice president for communications and marketing. She says the plan includes the following principles:
Appoint one spokesperson. “In a time of crisis, your university needs to speak with one voice,” says Ms. Ledewitz, who last fall was Embry-Riddle’s director of communications and its spokeswoman during the weeks following September 11.
Give the spokesperson access to the university’s president and top decision makers. “There has to be an open flow of communication, and you have to get to that person quickly, because these news stories are evolving,” Ms. Ledewitz says. Perry T. Fulkerson, Embry-Riddle’s vice president of institutional advancement, says the university’s president, George H. Ebbs, met with his cabinet several times a day during the crisis to discuss communication strategies.
Prepare broadcast technology for emergency use. A large institution needs to be able to send out mass quantities of e-mail and voice-mail messages in a hurry if events dictate it. It should get the technology for such needs in place, and test it regularly, says Ms. Ledewitz.
Use the Web. Directing media and other interested parties to an organization’s Web site for updated information can cut down on repetition and help control the content of the messages they receive, says Ms. Ledewitz. Robert Ross, Embry-Riddle’s media-relations specialist, says he gave updates to a local newspaper, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, and directed other journalists to the paper’s Web site — a move that had the added effect of strengthening the university’s relationship with that media outlet.
