University of Iowa VP finalist talks higher ed disruptions at forum

It's an age of disruption in public higher education, and communicating the value of a public teaching and research enterprise like the University of Iowa has become "absolutely vital" for the institution, the second finalist to become the UI's next vice president for strategic communication said.

The bad economy, changing demographics, loss of trust and new technologies are among the things causing disruption to public higher education, said Joseph Brennan, who visited the UI Monday and participated in a public forum. The third finalist for the position will visit campus Wednesday.

In response to those disruptions,  universities need to look for innovation in delivery of academic programs and services; find a new financial model that includes revenue growth and cost containment; and demonstrate their value, earn support and preserve trust, Brennan said. It's that last imperative where good strategic communication comes into play, he said.

"We have to engage and educate our stakeholders, as part of our strategy for coping with the age of disruption," he said. "We simply cannot take the support of the public for what we do for granted."

Strategic communication done right is not promotion or sales or spin, Brennan, 51, said, though it does include advocacy for the good work happening in classrooms or labs.

"What we do if we're really doing it well, is that we are engaging our audiences in two-way communication," he said. "We are listening as much as we're speaking."

Brennan is associate vice president for university communications at the State University of New York at Buffalo. On Monday he highlighted the work he's done at that school to help promote and educate about UB 2020, the school's  strategic plan that laid out extensive growth and new financial investment.

Good communication offices aren't simply "telegram offices" that relay press releases, Brennan said, but rather they help their institutions be more effective, clearly communicating a consistent message.

Regarding crisis communication, it's important to move quickly, tell your own bad news first and fully and have one message stating the institution owns the problem, will fix the problem and will prevent it from happening again, Brennan said. It also helps to have teams aimed at catching problems in advance, he said.

"Our goal of issues management is not to sweep things under the rug, it's to keep them from happening," he said.