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Crisis communications in effect during recent emergency

October 3, 2007 By Brian Mattmiller

UW–Madison has a detailed campus crisis plan that is designed to provide resources, coordination and information to responders, the campus community and the community at large.

Many aspects of that plan were activated during the Sept. 25 emergency at UW–Madison’s health sciences campus — an issue that concluded Sept. 28 with the arrest of Jesse A. Miller in San Diego.

Communication plans are a key part of any emergency response. UW–Madison uses multiple communications tools to convey critical information, including mass e-mail, news releases, mass voice mail, contact with building managers and residence hall house fellows, postings on the “My UW” portal, “instant” crisis Web sites and other external tools, such as the Facebook social marketing site. Information is typically posted or distributed within minutes of confirmation.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, UW–Madison is also exploring new technologies. The goal is to continue building multiple channels with built-in redundancies to reach as many people as possible.

The following methods were used to communicate during the Sept. 25 emergency:

  • Broadcast e-mails: The messages were sent by UW Police Capt. Johnnie Diamante at three points during the evening of Sept. 25 — at 6:06 p.m., 8:20 p.m. and 11:24 p.m. — to all students, faculty and staff, a list of approximately 60,000 people. The messages cycled through the list in approximately 20 minutes. The first message raised awareness of the circumstances at the health sciences campus and urged people to avoid the area. The second directed students in classes or studying on campus to take precautions, and the third confirmed that the university would resume normal operations in the morning.
  • Continual Web updates: Beginning with a post at 6:10 p.m., University Communications provided continual updates to a campus emergency report that was posted on the university’s home page, the news pages, the “My UW” student portal and the Parents Program Web site. Updates from police, student affairs and UW Hospital emergency staff were all funneled to the online update system. The system was updated on nine occasions with breaking news sites, generated more than 80,000 page views as of 10 a.m. Sept. 26.
  • Media briefings: Local media provided important assistance Sept. 25 in reaching the broader Madison community. News briefings were held at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation building two blocks from the health sciences campus. The briefings were directed by UW–Madison Police Capt. Dale Burke. A second round of media interviews were also conducted at 6 a.m. on Sept. 26.
  • Facebook postings: The highly popular Facebook social marketing site is increasingly seen as a resource for reaching the student community. University Communications posted a flyer on the site that generated more than 30,000 visits by noon on Sept. 26. The emergency update was also posted on the Facebook wall and discussion board.
  • Direct news releases: In addition to the on-site media briefings, University Communications distributed electronic news releases at two points later in the evening, one provided a new, updated image of the person of interest (Miller) and a second confirmed that the campus was to resume normal activities.