Crisis and Issues Management in Higher Ed with Jeff Hunt, Founder of Legend Labs

When the house is on fire, you don't want to be reading the manual for the first time. On this episode of Trending in Education, Mike Palmer sits down with Jeff Hunt, the founder of Legend Labs and a professor at the University of Texas, to discuss the high-stakes world of crisis communication in higher education .

Jeff brings a unique perspective shaped by 18 years at a global firm and a career spent managing issues across the world, from Seoul to London . His deep dive into higher education began with the reputational recovery of Penn State after the Jerry Sandusky crisis, a "trial by fire" that revealed how techniques from global world crises could be adapted to the university setting .

In an era of hyper-connectivity and a "nanosecond news cycle," Jeff argues that the old ways of managing a narrative are gone . He breaks down his book, Brand Under Fire, and a new playbook centered on five core principles: Authenticity, Transparency, Speed, Agility, and Creativity . We explore how leaders can move from a reactive stance to a "culture of readiness" . Jeff explains the mechanics of modern crisis prep, including "issues heat maps" to track percolating risks like labor strikes or political protests and high-intensity simulations that use AI to recreate the pressure of a breaking news story .

Beyond the technicalities, this conversation touches on the human element of leadership. Jeff shares why university presidents must sometimes step out of their administrative roles to communicate with the empathy of a parent, especially during campus tragedies . Using a "cockpit analogy" regarding flight delays, he illustrates how proactive, honest communication can build loyalty even when the news is bad .

Finally, Jeff discusses his work in the classroom, where he brings the "boardroom into the classroom" to help students navigate an AI-reshaped landscape and combat the "chilling effect" on open dialogue .

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Timestamps

🕰️ 00:00 — Welcome and Jeff Hunt's global origin story

🕰️ 02:03 — Lessons from the Penn State recovery

🕰️ 04:36 — How digital media changed the game

🕰️ 06:05 — The Five Principles: Authenticity and Transparency

🕰️ 07:45 — Speed, Agility, and filling the narrative vacuum

🕰️ 11:10 — The role of Creativity in crisis management

🕰️ 13:30 — Communicating during tragedy: The power of video and voice

🕰️ 16:20 — Vulnerability assessments and issues heat maps

🕰️ 20:10 — Simulations and Tabletops: Testing the team under pressure

🕰️ 24:10 — The Cockpit Analogy: Building loyalty through transparency

🕰️ 27:30 — AI and the future of open debate in the classroom