Engaging with Families When Crisis Strikes

Parents and families can be some of our best allies when crisis strikes on the college campus, but this requires proactive communications and processes to help families prepare for the unexpected. Join Dr. Amy Murphy, Dr. Maureen McGuinness, and Dr. Brian Van Brunt as they share insights from the new book, “Engaging Families in Higher Education” and discuss outreach and involvement of families when responding to crisis and emergencies.

Webinar participants will explore content including:

1. Frameworks for gaining insight into family responses to crisis
2. The role of families in crisis incidents such as illness and hospitalization, sexual violence, suicidal      ideation, protests and campus disruption, and student conduct concerns
3. When and how to communicate with families during emergencies
4. Strategies for developing families as partners in prevention

Whether a short-term crisis or a life-changing event, our students’ families deserve our respect, care, and support when crisis strikes. Together, we are better able to confront these moments of difficulty and provide students assistance to persevere through adversity.

About the Presenters

Amy Murphy, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Angelo State University in the College of Education where she also coordinates the doctoral degree program in transformative leadership. Amy has more than 20 years of experience in higher education and student affairs. She is formerly the Dean of Students at Texas Tech University. Her experiences include chair of the school’s behavioral intervention team, oversight of prevention and response activities for gender-based violence and discrimination as the deputy Title IX coordinator for students, as well as administrative involvement in student conduct, orientation programs, disability services, counseling, and enrollment management.

Maureen McGuinness, Ed.D., or ”Dr. Moe” as she is known by students, has been a professional in Student Affairs for the past three decades in housing and Dean of Students. Dr. Moe currently works as the Title IX Coordinator for the University of North Texas System. She was previously the Dean of Students and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at The University of North Texas. Her experiences include student conduct, the CARE Team, responding to student crisis as well as Clery compliance, and Title IX.

Brian Van Brunt, EdD, is the Director of Behavior and Threat Management for D-Prep Safety. Author of over a dozen books, Brian has spent time as a child and family therapist, university professor, assistant deputy director of training at Secure Community Network, partner at TNG, and president of the National Association for Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment (NABITA). He is an internationally recognized expert in behavioral intervention, threat assessment, mental illness, and instructional design. Brian has provided consulting services to schools, colleges, and universities across the country and abroad on a wide variety of topics related to student mental health, counseling, campus violence, and behavioral intervention.