In this post, I offer my thoughts on the University of Pennsylvania’s poor communication related to the arrest of a Penn alum in the  United Healthcare CEO assassination.

The Chinese philosopher Confucius said, “Silence is a true friend who never betrays.” That is true when you are about to open your mouth and say something stupid without thinking, but companies and organizations have reputations to uphold and often find themselves in the deep end of the pool when they choose to handle important issues by remaining silent. When they fail to comment, the public does not hesitate to put words into their mouths and fill in the blanks. It is difficult, if not next to impossible, to regain control of a situation once that happens.

Consider the University of Pennsylvania’s latest dilemma. Luigi Mangione, the suspected gunman in the recent murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees at Penn, yet the school’s delayed comment regarding Mangione’s arrest was stale and cold, containing no expression of sympathy for the Thompson family and no condemnation of the murder.

The university’s reputation was further damaged when a faculty member, Julia Alekseyva, seemingly praised Mangione’s actions. A self-described “socialist and ardent antifascist” on her website, she posted the following after Thompson’s murder, “Have never been prouder to be a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.”

When her post blew up in public, UPenn finally made the following statement: “Much concern was raised by recent social media posts attributed to assistant professor Julia Alekseyeva. Her comments regarding the shooting of Brian Thompson in New York City were antithetical to the values of both the School of Arts and Sciences and the University of Pennsylvania, and they were not condoned by the school or the university.”

With no expression of sympathy for the Thompson family nor any mention of the senselessness of extreme violence, that response statement had about as much humanity as a cold fish. And it isn’t the university’s first rodeo in crisis and issues management. Just last year, the university was called to task and UPenn president Liz Magill was forced to resign after refusing to say on-campus protests calling for a Jewish genocide violates the school’s anti-bullying and harassment conduct policy. 

UPenn has a knack for taking challenging situations and making them worse. The first rule in crisis management is to quickly evaluate the issue, show empathy, and apologize for any real or perceived role. In such cases, silence is not golden. The need to condemn violence and loss of life is paramount, and appearing to be uncaring only fuels the fire.

Once again, UPenn has egg on its face, as it was outperformed and outclassed by Mangione’s prep school, the Gilman School in Baltimore. The private high school’s headmaster, Henry P.A. Smyth, stated, “We recently became aware that the person arrested in connection with the killing of the United Healthcare CEO is a Gilman alumnus, Luigi Mangione, Class of 2016. We do not have any information other that what is being reported in the news. This is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected.”

Quite a difference in tone and content. UPenn can take a lesson from the Gilman School and how they are handling this terrible situation.

There are nonviolent ways to bring important topics to the table for discussion and correction where and when involved people and groups use peaceful means to move them forward. We can never condone murder and violence, no matter the underlying issues, and so far UPenn is not communicating effectively. They will be best served by putting the human touch on the institution’s insensitivity.

REMEMBER…

◊ As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “The time is always right to do what is right.”

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