Written by Dr. Shelley Wigley, Department of Communications, The University of Texas at Arlington
Dr. Wigley, who teaches and researches crisis communication and reputation management, never expected a real-time crisis to unfold in their own classroom—a stark, high-stakes moment where academic theory crashed headfirst into reality.
This scenario began during a service-learning course, where students partnered with an organization believed to be a credible nonprofit. Midway through the semester, serious, undisclosed issues were uncovered regarding the organization’s tax-exempt status. This was no hypothetical case study or a classroom simulation; it was a bona fide PR crisis with tangible professional consequences for the students. Their weeks of hard work were suddenly jeopardized, and their professional reputations were at risk. What followed was a turning point for the class—a chance to stop discussing theory and start doing, proving that resilience and ethical agility aren’t just concepts on a slide, but essential skills forged under authentic pressure.
Resilience in the Classroom: Navigating an Unplanned PR Crisis
I teach and research crisis communication and reputation management. Yet, I never expected a crisis to unfold in real time in my own classroom.
In one of my service-learning courses during a previous semester, students partnered with what we believed to be a credible nonprofit organization. Midway through the semester, we discovered serious issues with the organization’s nonprofit status that had never been disclosed. This was no longer a classroom simulation. It was an authentic, high stakes learning moment for the students and for me.
Educator Lessons: Protect, Respond, Pivot
Once we verified the facts, our immediate priority was to protect students and their work. Together, we took decisive action:
- Secured assets: Students gathered media analytics and archived their work for professional use.
- Protected reputations: We removed all social media posts and content featuring students’ likeness.
- Terminated the partnership: We paused all campaign activities and formally ended the partnership in writing.
The students were understandably frustrated. They had spent weeks crafting content, building strategy, and representing the client publicly. But this was also a turning point and a chance to pivot and demonstrate what professionalism looks like under pressure.
Educator Lessons: Building Agility and Resilience
For students, this situation became an invaluable professional development experience. For educators, it offered a clear illustration of how agility and ethical reasoning can be intentionally fostered in the classroom.
Key takeaways included:
- Agility as a professional competency: Students experienced what it means to make quick, ethical decisions in real time and to adapt strategies when circumstances shift.
- Documentation as protection: Because students secured their work immediately, they were able to preserve and present it as a professional accomplishment rather than a loss.
- Ethics and accountability at the core: Crises test judgment, but they also shape professional identity. This moment reinforced the importance of instilling ethical reflexes early.
- Turning a crisis into narrative capital: Students can now articulate their response to this challenge in job interviews, describing how they navigated uncertainty, acted ethically, and protected their work with professionalism.
These outcomes did not emerge from a polished lecture or a well-rehearsed scenario. They came from experiencing the discomfort of real-world stakes and learning to respond with agility and integrity.
Practical Takeaways for Faculty
This incident also served as a reminder that service-learning, while powerful, comes with real risks. It underscored several practices that can help faculty prepare for and navigate unexpected challenges:
- Vetting matters: Use tools like Guidestar or the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search to verify nonprofit status before engaging with community partners.
- Scenario planning: Build ethical “what if” conversations and crisis simulations into course design so students are better equipped to respond if a real situation emerges.
- Model adaptive leadership: Students look to instructors for clarity and steadiness during uncertainty. Modeling calm, decisive action teaches more than lectures ever could.
Final Reflection
This was not the semester any of us envisioned. But it was, without question, one of the most meaningful learning experiences we’ve shared.
Crises in the classroom can be uncomfortable, but they are fertile ground for growth. Students left not only with campaign deliverables but with a story of resilience, adaptability, and ethical decision-making they will carry into their careers.
And for educators, this was a reminder that classrooms are more than spaces for instruction; they are living laboratories, where theory and practice meet in unexpected ways and where the most powerful lessons often emerge from what we didn’t plan.
Bio: Dr. Shelley Wigley is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Texas at Arlington where she teaches graduate courses in persuasion and crisis communication and undergraduate courses in public relations. She has more than a decade of professional public relations experience that includes media training, media relations, and crisis preparation, as well as experience as both a newspaper and broadcast journalist. Her research focuses on resistance to persuasion, crisis communication, media relations, and social media.
