Public will: What story is your campus equipped to tell?

Effective public relations and reputation management calls on colleges and universities to focus on action before messaging. This requires establishing a clear sense of what the institution stands for and will act on. As importantly, it requires that communication professionals have a means for determining which issues their institutions should respond to publicly in order to authentically engage in those topics and avoid empty claims. This paper provides real-life examples for how one college was able to establish a clear stance on issues core to its mission, move from reactive to intentional issues management and demonstrate its commitments through action. The paper illustrates the impact of proactively addressing potentially negative issues before they become public and frankly addresses the fact that any public statement will attract both positive and negative responses. Cases highlighted in the paper also show the importance of acting with both empathy and competence in response to sensitive issues – one or the other, alone, is insufficient. Finally, the paper includes a ‘public will’ framework to guide communications professionals through the decision process regarding how to respond to emerging topics. Also included are current event examples to demonstrate how the framework is used in guiding effective reputation management strategies.