By: Stacy White
College is a thrilling time in any young adult’s life. Many students spend hours researching their prospective school, while others have known their dream school for years.
The state of Michigan boasts many prominent universities such as the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Oakland University, Central Michigan University and many more notable colleges. Students across the nation eagerly compete for an admission spot into one of Michigan’s esteemed universities. Despite their respected reputations, these institutions have not evaded damaging press. Recently, a series of scandals have swept across Michigan universities. Each school has a public relations team to help maintain its reputation. Each group helps their universities make informed decisions to help with any crises or conflicts.
Within the last year, controversies have arisen amongst several Michigan universities. As the institutions dealt with their crises, each public relations team devised a unique strategy to mitigate and solve their scandals.
Oakland University – Rochester, Mich.
Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, Oakland University accidentally awarded 5,500 students full-ride scholarships via email.
The public relations team sent an apology email within two hours after the incident. The university claimed a human error. Additionally, OU mentioned that the students did not meet the eligibility requirements for the scholarship. In the end, the university encouraged students to submit any new test scores to qualify for additional scholarships.
The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Mich.
Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, former university President Mark Schlissel was fired as a result of an inappropriate relationship between him and a subordinate.
The university was quick with its response. Emails were immediately released that indicted Dr. Schlissel. Within several hours an interim president was appointed. By remaining transparent with faculty and students, Michigan’s public relations team remained in control of the narrative the entire time – releasing all information to the media themselves.
Central Michigan University – Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, 58 Central Michigan University applicants were mistakenly notified that they had received a full-ride (tuition plus room and board) scholarship.
Instead of the public relations team reaching out, the director of admissions personally called each student two days later to inform them of the unfortunate situation. When the media first became aware of the mishap, CMU was vague about how many students were affected. The university would also not say how it would prevent such a situation in the future.
Eventually, CMU decided to award all 58 students a full-tuition scholarship. However, the award no longer covers room and board expenses. Many still wonder how this will be paid for, but the university wishes to honor its word. Skepticism continues to surround this scandal following the highly criticized PR response to the mistake.