Campus Crisis Communication

What a horrible day Tuesday was for higher ed. Two separate shootings, at Purdue University and Widener University, took place, in what has become a sadly far too common occurrence. My thoughts go out to everyone at those schools.

It's nightmare scenario for everyone at a college, and it places particular strain on social media manager, who suddenly become a vital source of information and a primary outlet for news and updates.

While of course we all hope we will never be in a situation like this, it's worth looking at Purdue's (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and Widener's (Facebook, Twitter) social media outlets to see how they handled the situation. Crisis communication is not an easy thing to be prepared for, but it is important to have a plan in place and get a feel for the best ways to share critical information.

Hang tough, Boilermakers and Pride!