University News

WIU Hosts Public Lecture on Crisis and Risk Communication

March 25, 2026

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MACOMB, IL - - Western Illinois University will host a public lecture featuring Professor Brooke Fisher Liu, a leading expert in crisis and communication, at 3:45 p.m., Monday, March 30, in the University Union, Capital Room.

Titled "Navigating the Storm: Essential Risk Communication for Crisis Survival," the lecture will explore effective communication strategies that can improve outcomes during crises such as pandemics, natural disasters and other emergencies.

The presentation will address communication failure during the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent crises, while highlighting approaches to strengthen crisis readiness. Professor Liu will discuss how organizations, communities and individuals can better prepare and respond to emergencies through strategic communication.

Liu is a communication professor at the University of Maryland. Her research examines how strategic communication contributes to organizational and community crisis readiness, particularly in the context of pandemics. She co-founded the University of Maryland Pandemic Readiness Initiative to use social science to improve communication during public health crises.

Her work includes more than 100 publications that have been cited over 10,000 times and she co-edited the "Routledge Handbook of Risk, Crisis, and Disaster Communication." In 2024, Professor Liu was elected a Fellow of the International Communication Association.

For more information on the event, contact the WIU Communication program, at Communication@wiu.edu.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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