Race, Renaming & Renewal: Comparison of Crisis Communications Responses to Racial Tensions at Three Universities

Quinnipiac University, M.S., Public Relations, 2017

This qualitative study applies the Discourse of Renewal theory to examine how the leaders of three universities responded to 2015 crises instigated by race-related student activism inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.

I compiled case histories from media coverage and conducted interviews with staff and faculty from three universities whose roles included public relations, campus diversity efforts, and the study of slavery or race.

Two of the cases relate to the renaming of buildings commemorating figures with ties to slavery, and all three related to each university’s historical ties to slavery. Through positive and negative examples, the results compellingly confirm the tenets of the theory, which correlates altruistic and transparent communications approaches with post-crisis success.

National Communications Association Convention
November 2019

“Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation: Georgetown’s Commitment to Renewal”

This case study of Georgetown University’s institutional response to the protests of 2015 includes interviews with two faculty members who led the president’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation.

Interviews:

• Fr. Matthew Carnes, S.J., Associate Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies

• Marcia Chatelain, Professor of History; activist for the rights of African Americans, LGTBQ people, and women; public speaker on the subject of social movements; and creator of the famous #FergusonSyllabus

Themes:

• Academia’s role in confronting history and setting out a forward-looking path

• Town-gown relationships, equalizing power differences through robust and genuine listening, and the role of the history of slavery in contemporary life

• The role of Jesuit cultural norms in recording and examining that history

• Motivations of university leaders in forming their communications

• Racial divides in how the efforts were received

International History of Public Relations Conference
July 2018

“Race, rebuilding, and renewal: Discourse of Renewal and the University of Missouri football boycott of 2015”

This case study examines the University of Missouri’s role in instigating the Black Lives Matter protests that took place simultaneously at hundreds of campuses across the country. The protests stemmed from students’ geographical ties to the violent clashes with police in nearby Ferguson. The crisis was amplified by media coverage of the football team’s boycott, and created a financial crisis that continues to threaten the flagship campus’s survival.

Interviews:

• Marcia Chatelain, Georgetown Professor of History. Chatelain is a Mizzou alumna, and as a student, she was a prominent campus activist. In response to the events of 2015, she returned to campus on several occasions to help guide discussions on race.

• A communications professional who was on duty during the height of the chaos and media frenzy, and during the efforts to rebuild.

Themes:

• Town-gown relationships, including a longstanding pattern of white community members and white students racially harassing Black students, and historically, a violent resistance to integration.

• Leadership responses characterized as defensive, slow-moving, and decentralized perpetuated the crisis.

• The role of Mizzou’s nationally recognized journalism school in creating media attention.

Yale Digital Conference
June 2019

“Delete Your Account: The Surprising Benefits of Consolidating Your Social Media Presence”

Themes:

• What goal are you trying to meet with that new social media account?

• Achieve your goals with hashtags, not new accounts

• Tips for collaboration with the humans behind the accounts

• Exemplary departmental accounts—how they're run and why they work

Yale Digital Conference &
Yale Communicators Community Meeting
2017

“Online News Best Practices”

Themes:

• How people find, consume, and share online news

• Impact of social media and mobile usage

• Optimal headline and article length