Learn More About the Master of Science in Communication Program<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn New York City I was investigating violent crimes involving children \u2013 just really heavy stuff,\u201d Charles said. \u201cI was put into a media role kind of on the fly, and that\u2019s where it started. It opened up a whole new world for me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n From ACS to UVA: Managing Crises on a College Campus<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n From there, Charles redirected his career from investigator to communication professional, eventually landing in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he got a job as director of media relations for the University of Virginia Darden School of Business \u2013 a homecoming for the UVA alumnus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe job was heavy on proactive media relations and light on crisis,\u201d Charles said. \u201cBut that changed when I assumed the role as UVA\u2019s deputy spokesperson, a position created due to the unprecedented number of crises the University was enduring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first crisis was a 2014 article published in Rolling Stone <\/em>magazine detailing a violent sexual assault case that had allegedly occurred on UVA\u2019s campus. The article quickly went viral, and UVA was caught in a public relations crisis, tasked with reassuring people on and off-campus that UVA was safe for female students. As it turns out, the article was based on false information and subsequently retracted,<\/a> and Rolling Stone <\/em>was sued for defamation. However, for Charles, this incident represented a shift in the way UVA approached crisis communication \u2013 having a proactive crisis plan was now at the forefront of their communication strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was doing 80% crisis communication and 20% other communication work that included community relations,\u201d Charles said. \u201cThings completely shifted.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n A few years later, another crisis struck UVA\u2019s campus, but this time the threat was credible. In August of 2017, a large group of white supremacists descended on downtown Charlottesville, carrying torches and confederate flags. The group was marching in response to the city of Charlottesville announcing they were removing a statue of confederate war general Robert E. Lee. This so-called \u201cUnite the Right<\/a>\u201d rally angered Charlottesville\u2019s citizens, who engaged in counter protests<\/a> throughout the weekend. One of the protests turned deadly when activist Heather Hyer was struck by a car<\/a> driven by a white supremacist. These events put UVA back in the spotlight, and once again highlighted the importance of proactive crisis communication and risk assessment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUVA leadership taking too long to acknowledge Nazism and white nationalists\/supremacists, instead identifying them as alt-right, was a risk,\u201d Charles writes in Chapter 9 of “Shit Show\u201d, which details UVA\u2019s response to the rallies and gives Charles\u2019 perspective on what he learned. \u201cUVA stating the right to assembly by both sides came across as trying to strike a balance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou Have to Start by Listening:\u201d Building Trust in Global Contexts<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Charles\u2019 time at UVA gave him a strong foundation for understanding that establishing trust is a key component of navigating difficult conversations. He continued to build on this idea after he earned his doctorate and moved more into academic work and consulting. Most recently, he\u2019s been working with international clients. According to Charles, traveling to Japan and experiencing the cultural differences that inform people\u2019s communication patterns helped foreground the importance of trust \u2013 without trust, difficult conversations are over before they begin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re on the ground, it\u2019s important to understand sociocultural variables and be sensitive to people\u2019s different experiences \u2013 you have to start by listening,\u201d Charles said. \u201cIn Japan, respect and politeness are big norms, and you have to do a lot of listening before trust can be established. France, Spain and the U.K. are similar in building trust before immediately launching into a business conversation, which we tend to do in the U.S., but with those countries you can be more out-going during initial conversations when establishing rapport. It\u2019s more about building relationships by first breaking bread.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Charles was also appointed a Fulbright Specialist and placed on their Communication and Journalism roster where he was paired with the Constitutional Court of Kosovo. Prior to the project being delayed, he worked with staff members via Zoom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInterestingly, working with Kosovars felt the most like interacting with folks from the States,\u201d Charles said. \u201cHowever, this also could be because many of them earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in the U.S. It\u2019s always important to understand an individual\u2019s experiences because these can shape the person as much, if not more, than where they were born.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Supporting Online Learning in the Brian Lamb School<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Though Charles\u2019 career as a crisis communicator has helped him build relationships with people across the globe, his next leap is focused on forging virtual connections. He\u2019ll be managing online graduate programs in Purdue\u2019s Brian Lamb School of Communication. Charles is no stranger to the world of online education \u2013 he’s been teaching classes online at various universities, including Purdue, for over ten years, and he even completed part of his doctorate online. For him, online learning represents another way to meet people where they are and give them the tools they need to succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTrend-wise, a lot of people thought online education would sputter out after COVID,\u201d Charles said. \u201cBut that hasn\u2019t been the case \u2013 online education is really valued by students because it\u2019s convenient, it allows them to keep working, and they can do it on their own terms to maintain work-life balance. People demand this, especially coming out of the pandemic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n From Charles\u2019 perspective, online and in-person education go hand-in-hand, and he hopes to see the Brian Lamb School\u2019s online programs grow side-by-side with their campus programs, offering the same quality and value that Purdue students expect. Charles started as a lecturer for the online Master of Science in Communication<\/a> program, so he understands the importance of using his professional background to give students real-world experience in the areas they\u2019re interested in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the online master\u2019s program, people want hands-on experience,\u201d Charles said. \u201cThey want media relations experience, crisis and digital communication experience, and of course AI is a hot topic right now.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since Charles\u2019 took over, the school\u2019s online master\u2019s program has announced some exciting updates, such as a new concentration in digital media and communication technology<\/a>. Charles is excited for more growth, but he also thinks the Brian Lamb School\u2019s online master\u2019s and graduate certificates are already great models for all of Purdue\u2019s online programs \u2013 by giving students access to renowned professionals and cutting-edge classes, these programs are making a world-class education more accessible than ever before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe [online Master of Science in Communication] program is like a north star for the College of Liberal Arts,\u201d Charles said. \u201cAnd for Purdue as a whole.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn more about Purdue University\u2019s online communication programs at the Brian Lamb School of Communication\u2019s website<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the high-stakes world of crisis communication, trust is key. Few people understand this as well as Matt Charles, the new online graduate program director in Purdue\u2019s Brian Lamb School of Communication. His career as a crisis communicator has spanned decades \u2013 and in that time, he\u2019s collected a lot of stories and learned a thing or two about building trust. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":5268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"area-of-study":[9],"person":[75],"class_list":["post-5142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-program-news","area-of-study-communication","person-faculty-staff"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-1583075965.jpg",1800,936,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-1583075965.jpg",1800,936,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-1583075965.jpg",1800,936,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-1583075965-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-1583075965-300x156.jpg",300,156,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-1583075965-1024x532.jpg",1024,532,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-1583075965-1536x799.jpg",1536,799,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-1583075965.jpg",1800,936,false],"rt_custom":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/GettyImages-1583075965.jpg",1800,936,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"RM Barton","author_link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/author\/barton53\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Program News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"In the high-stakes world of crisis communication, trust is key. Few people understand this as well as Matt Charles, the new online graduate program director in Purdue\u2019s Brian Lamb School of Communication. His career as a crisis communicator has spanned decades \u2013 and in that time, he\u2019s collected a lot of stories and learned a…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5142"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6146,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5142\/revisions\/6146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5142"},{"taxonomy":"area-of-study","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/area-of-study?post=5142"},{"taxonomy":"person","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/person?post=5142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Matt_charles.webp\")
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