“A president can never be fully prepared for a disaster—and it is important to learn from colleagues who have experienced campus tragedies,” said Sal D. Rinella in a Presidents Institute session titled, “The Presidential Role in Disaster Planning and Response: Lessons from the Front.”

Rinella, a strategic planning consultant for Stratus and former president at Austin Peay State University (TN), spoke from personal experience about campus disasters. In 1999, his campus was struck by a tornado that closed four buildings and damaged several more.

Among his suggestions to deal with disasters:

1. Take the lead in developing disaster plans. Plan for all types of disasters but focus more on those likely to affect the campus. Give special attention to plans for the first 24 hours following the disaster. Know how to communicate to the campus during and immediately following the tragedy. Low-tech systems, such as sirens and public address systems are most reliable. Set up off-campus email accounts, purchase satellite phones, and have back-up generators that focus on communication devices. Coordinate with community and regional officials in advance to make communication run more smoothly following the disaster.

2. Set the tone for recovery. Following the disaster, the community (mainly parents) wants to hear from the president. They want to know that the president cares and is in charge of the situation. Set up opportunities for grieving, counseling, or community projects that help rebuild.

3. Minimize enrollment loss. Identify places in the community that could be used as classrooms if necessary. Prepare all senior administrators, faculty members, and board members to become recruiters. Use the website by posting messages immediately and letting everyone know the institution is still in business.

4. Use the recovery phase as an opportunity to advance long-term goals. Instead of recreating the campus and programs the way they were, look to how they might be in the future. Accelerate fundraising while individuals with power and money will be looking for a way to help the institution.

5. Tend to matters of the heart. Build memorials, celebrate recovery, and thank people. This is what will be remembered following the disaster.

Rinella also noted several lessons to be learned from the mass shootings at Virginia Tech last year:

• Be certain that key personnel are aware of FERPA and state laws and how they are to be applied on campus.
  
  
• Establish a policy that informs the president of all acts of violence so that the president is never caught off guard.
  
  
• Make sure you have the ability to lock down the campus and create a communication system that will facilitate such a move.