Making the Case

Key Messages and Data • Making the Case Resources • Media Activity • Speeches and Addresses • Books and Reports •

Vol. 3, No. 2
FEBRUARY 2002

PRESIDENT'S EDITION

Welcome to the first issue of the new year. Communications Resources is CIC’s periodic kit of tools and ideas to help you tell your institution’s story. Your public relations director has received a similar mailing.

In this issue, we focus on crisis communication, an activity with which many of us have been more than casually concerned in recent weeks and months. If you discover yourself in the midst of a crisis, you will want to read Lipman Hearne consultant Rodney K. Ferguson’s presentation notes and Nichols College President Debra M. Murphy’s formula for handling a crisis. We also include a sample of the proactive letters-to-the editor that CIC distributed to the media following reports on the Lumina Foundation’s study that spread misperceptions about the affordability of college. Finally, Southwestern University President Jake Schrum explains 11 “C’s” for being a successful fundraising president, and you will read thoughtful remarks from two presidents on important September occasions: 1) a president’s own inauguration, and 2) a day of remembrance after the tragic events of September 11. We trust these materials will interest you.

FACING A CRISIS

A former journalist who has turned consultant, Rodney Ferguson of Lipman Hearne, Inc. in Chicago, and a member president, Debra Murphy of Nichols College, escorted presidents at the recent Presidents Institute through the basic principles of communicating in a crisis. They pointed out where the pitfalls occur and told us where to discover some exemplary websites that provide input on crisis plans. Presentation notes from Mr. Ferguson’s talk are included for your review. Murphy’s handout (also enclosed) identifies the types of crises, varieties of planning steps, constituencies with which to communicate, and the various websites to review while compiling your own crisis plan. (These sites include: www.nacubo.org, www.naspa.org, and www.fema.gov. She also recommends viewing the college plans on the Web at MIT, University of Utah, University of California, Mount Holyoke, and Rollins College.) In addition, Dickinson College’s “Emergency Response Manual” describes how one college handles those important emergency activities in the different crises that might occur on your campuses. It may be downloaded at www.dickinson.edu/departments/pubsaf/
manuals/emergrespon.html.

RESPONDING TO THE LUMINA REPORT

Many member presidents and PR officers already have attempted to turn around the media’s coverage of the Lumina Foundation’s report, Unequal Opportunity, released in January. Since you may still wish to respond to media in your locality, we enclose copies of the original clipping from USA Today and a copy of CIC’s letter to the USA Today editor in response. Similar letters from CIC also ran in the Christian Science Monitor, Washington Times, Baltimore Sun, and Chronicle of Higher Education.

STUDENT LOAN DATA AVAILABLE

Your financial aid officer will find interesting an analysis of student debt completed by the Center for Policy Analysis of the American Council on Education (ACE). The study, “ACE Issue Brief: Student Borrowing in the 1990s,” notes that more than 60 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients graduate with some federal student loan debt. Median student loan debt at private institutions rose from $13,983 to $17,250 between 1995 and 2000 while the figures for public institutions increased from $10,342 to $15,375. You can find the entire study at http://www.acenet.edu.

I WISH I HAD SAID THAT

Southwestern University’s President Jake Schrum stimulated a campaign fundraising workshop audience in January with a talk, “The President’s 11 C’s of Fundraising.” We include his challenging address here. You may wish to compare your views with his and count how many “C’s” fit your own personality.

Two presidents will long remember September 14th. First, University of Puget Sound held one of hundreds of commemorative services that occurred on campuses across the country in remembrance of those who died three days earlier in New York and Washington, DC President Susan Resneck Pierce shares remarks she made on that day. In the midwest, Ohio’s Hiram College inaugurated its new president, Richard J. Scaldini. His enclosed address, “Crossing Boundaries: Globalization and Liberal Arts Education” acknowledges those who died and articulates the challenges of globalization, the meaning of a liberal education, and much more.

WANT TO SHARE SOME OF YOUR WRITING?

Several presidents and PR directors have suggested articles for Communications Resources, and several presidents have asked us to consider some of their writings for future issues. If you have a short speech, op-ed, report or other article that you think would be of interest to your colleague presidents in CIC, please send them to editor Laura Wilcox at CIC. We’re especially looking for articles about “making the case” for private, liberal arts colleges and universities. For more information or to talk about your materials, contact Laura Wilcox at (202) 466-7230; e-mail lwilcox@cic.nche.edu; fax (202) 466-7238.

Vol. 3, No. 2
FEBRUARY 2002

PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR'S EDITION

Welcome to the first issue of the new year. Communications Resources is CIC’s periodic kit of tools and ideas to help you tell your institution’s story. Your president has received a similar mailing.

In this issue, we focus on crisis communications, an activity with which many of us have been more than casually concerned in recent weeks and months. If you discover yourself in the midst of a crisis, you will want to read consultant Rodney K. Ferguson’s presentation notes and Nichols College President Debra M. Murphy’s formula for handling a crisis. We also provide from a Washington, DC consulting group guidelines and some exceptional corporate models for designing aggressive advocacy campaigns. And we include a sample of the proactive letters-to-the editor that CIC distributed to the media following reports on the Lumina Foundation’s study that spread misperceptions about the affordability of college.

FACING A CRISIS

Mr. Ferguson, of Lipman Hearne, Inc. and Nichols President Murphy guided audience members at the recent Presidents Institute through the principles of communicating in a crisis. They pointed out the pitfalls and told participants where to find good websites that would provide help in preparing crisis plans. Murphy identified the types of crises, varieties of planning steps, constituencies with whom to communicate, and the various websites you need to review while compiling your own plan. (Sites include: www.nacubo.org, www.naspa.org, and www.fema.gov. Murphy also recommends viewing college plans on the sites at MIT, University of Utah, University of California, Mount Holyoke, and Rollins College.) Presentation notes from Mr. Ferguson’s talk are included for your review. Also, Dickinson College’s “Emergency Response Manual” describes how to manage emergency activities in different crises. It may be downloaded at www.dickinson.edu/departments/pubsaf/manuals/
emergrespon.html.

CAMPAIGNING FOR YOUR INSTITUTION

When it comes to staying ahead of a crisis, several organizations aggressively campaign for their causes. You can find details of these campaigns on websites that range from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (www.madd.org) and Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (www.tobaccofreekids.org) to International Campaign to Ban Landmines (www.icbl.org) and Friends of the Earth International (www.foei.org). One Washington, DC firm, supported by a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, recently published “Now Hear This: The Nine Laws of Successful Advocacy Communications.” Fenton Communications’ publication can be found and downloaded from their website, www.fenton.com. It proposes setting clear, measurable goals and designing ways to budget for success.

BEST PRACTICES

If your campus plans to promote its Homecoming activities, you may wish to consider a first-rate promotion distributed by Illinois College (IC). IC sent out a full-color, 12-page self-mailer to its alumni that was decorated with engaging close-ups of its athletes, a message from the director, and a schedule of activities. Then, after the Homecoming activities were concluded, IC doubled the brochure’s life, turning it into an intercollegiate sports recruiting flyer – all at minimal expense. Lynn Whalen, assistant PR director there, has a limited number of copies of each brochure for those who want one. E-mail her at ALWhalen@IC.edu or call (217) 245-3065.

Campuses that promote values-based tours for alumni and friends can learn how to improve their materials by viewing “Journey,” a well-conceived pamphlet from Franciscan University of Steubenville. The ompelling messages and the way the editors laid out the brochure will make you want to go along. Call (800) 783-6339 and ask for a copy, or contact Lisa Ferguson, PR director, at (740) 283-6450, ext. 4411.

Almost every college produces an alumni periodical, and many editors exchange their periodicals regularly with top editors on other CIC campuses. Three of those magazines that should be on your exchange list include: Webster World from Webster University in St. Louis, Saint Edward’s University Magazine from the Texas institution of the same name, and The Hill from Western Maryland College. Their performance, issue after issue, is top quality by anyone’s ratings.

If you think we’ve overlooked your periodical or brochure and would like us to review it, please send a copy to the editor at CIC.

RESPONDING TO THE LUMINA REPORT

Many member presidents and PR officers already have attempted to turn around the media’s coverage of the Lumina Foundation’s report, Unequal Opportunity, released in January. Since you may still wish to respond to media in your locality, we enclose copies of the original clipping from USA Today and a copy of CIC’s letter to the USA Today editor in response. Similar letters from CIC also ran in the Christian Science Monitor, Washington Times, Baltimore Sun, and Chronicle of Higher Education.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK….

What do you think about Communications Resources? How can we improve it to best serve your needs? Let us know. Contact editor Laura Wilcox, director of communications, at (202) 466-7230; e-mail lwilcox@cic.nche.edu; fax (202) 466-7238.

CIC PR LISTSERV

If you’re not on CIC’s “listserv” discussion group for public relations directors and their staff and would like to join, send your e-mail address to Maxine Morris at mmorris@cic.nche.edu, and we’ll add your name. There’s no charge for this service. Participation is restricted to PR practitioners from CIC member institutions. CIC also sponsors listservs for presidents, chief academic officers, business officers, and lead staff in student affairs, advancement, and IT. See CIC’s website or newsletter for details.