Ripped from the Headlines: Lessons from #Owlcatraz

If there were awards for really bad public relations like there are for really bad films, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) would be a candidate, contender and probably clear cut winner, most notably for its handling of an agreement to accept a contentious corporate donation. The deal has since been shelved, but FAU will long be associated with the public protest dubbed Owlcatraz. The debacle, which warrants a forensic review, is not only one for the record books, but also a classic case study of public relations and corporate reputation mismanagement.

Here are the facts in custody:

Dateline: February 2013

FAU announces a $6 million pledge from the GEO Group, Inc., a private prison contractor, in exchange for naming rights to the stadium where the school’s football team, the FAU Owls, play. GEO’s headquarters are located in Boca Raton, FL, home of FAU’s main campus. GEO’s chairman is a FAU alumnus and former university trustee. In the United States and abroad, the company has been a defendant in several lawsuits involving human rights violations, abuse and neglect. The university’s announcement sparks outrage among many students, who form the Stop Owlcatraz Coalition, members of the faculty, community, local and national media.

Dateline: March 2013

In response to student sit-ins, online petitions, social media uproar and a fair amount of national ridicule (really, does it get any worse than the Colbert Report on Comedy Central?), FAU President Mary Jane Saunders meets with 250 students. She defends the GEO donation and also states that while she did not know everything about the company, the agreement was a “done deal.”

Campus protests, petitions and social media conversations intensify. While departing a FAU satellite campus, Saunders’ vehicle was surrounded by a group of student protesters, resulting in a not so civil exchange. According to news reports, a student sustained a minor injury when brushed by the side mirror of the car driven by the president and according to the university, the president felt physically intimidated, threatened and confined by the protesters.

Dateline: April 2013

On April Fools’ Day (no joke), FAU announces the withdrawal of the donation agreement, relinquishing stadium renaming rights. One day later, the group of students (now known as the FAU 7) involved in the physical brush-off received a university summons to  meet with the Dean of Students to determine whether or not they violated FAU’s code of conduct and if applicable disciplinary action would follow. Four days after the meeting, the university announced it would not pursue charges against the FAU 7, but scolded the participants’ behavior.

LGK’s Take

If we were giving grades for performance, FAU would receive three Fs: Failure to act first, failure to act fast and failure to act fully – the three cardinal rules of crisis communications.

Many well trained public relations, communications and marketing professionals are scratching their heads. Since when does a prominent public university with a 50-plus year history of educational excellence decide to be reactive instead of proactive? Were the public relations blunders coming so fast and furious that the crisis communications plan, public relations strategy, process to vet donor prospects, social media monitoring program or talking points simply ignored?  Surely, prior to announcing the GEO stadium deal, if administrators neglected to anticipate the slightest of backlash, shame. Following initial indications of online posts, petitions tweets or media inquiries, the administrative brain trust should have been front and center, acknowledging the issue from the perspectives of its constituencies, answering inquiries and managing the crisis. Instead, they hid in solitary confinement until the crisis was at its peak.

So where does FAU go from here? Dust off the old plans or take a course in public relations effectiveness, crisis management and corporate reputation in the new normal of real-time engagement in the digital era? To minimize further reputation damage and to rebuild trust, as hard as it may be, FAU must diffuse the still smoldering situation – admit poor handling, hold more press conferences, present visual and social demonstrations of its efforts to listen to constituencies and be responsive in a timely manner. The university needs to connect with its audiences on issues they care about (need we say prison reform), show stability and pride. We’re certain that many talented South Florida communications professionals would lend a shovel to help dig FAU out of this mess, for the university does have good programs, students, faculty, staff and stories to tell. But then again, when you’re behind bars, with blinders on no less, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

For more on FAU and Owlcatraz, we recommend two Palm Beach Post articles which give a back-story and an update so that you can judge for yourself. What grade would you give Florida Atlantic University?

For daily marketing communications news, click here to subscribe to LGK’s free, online, MarCom Digest. Maximize your momentum!