WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN AT GOOD PLACES

WITHIN THE WORLD of higher education, Duke University is widelyadmired for its skill in public relations. Over the years, it haslifted itself from regional icon to an elite national researchuniversity, renowned for its overachieving undergraduates, whomigrate to Durham, N.C., from all over the United States. It also hasan internationally known medical center, and probably the nation'smost respected basketball program men's and women's. The Chronicle ofHigher Education covers developments at Duke with an intensity itotherwise reserves for Ivy League schools.

But now Duke is rolling in a barrel of white-hot negative coverageat a time in journalistic history when news outlets are faster, moreplentiful, and more unrelenting (as in 24/7) than ever before.Allegations of rape at a raucous off-campus party, involving membersof the Duke men's lacrosse team, plus evidence of outrageousattitudes by at least some team members regarding race, gender, andviolence have left the campus and the Raleigh-Durham community inturmoil.

Having worked on both sides of such controversies, as editor ofThe Boston Globe for eight years and as spokesman for my alma mater,the University of Notre Dame, from 2002 until earlier this year, Ihave a sense of how Duke's administrators are feeling.

At a time when a key word on Google can retrieve virtually everyword written or broadcast concerning Duke, sometimes within minutes,the university's leaders cannot feel other than besieged. And becauseDuke is the primary focus for these administrators, it's easy forthem to feel that the preoccupation of the general public matchestheir own. At Notre Dame, I experienced this phenomenon when, afterjust three seasons of mixed results on the field, we had fired ourfirst African-American football coach, Tyrone Willingham. For twoweeks the coverage was unrelenting, and the backlash so intense thateven our then-president, the Rev. Edward A. Malloy, distanced himselffrom the decision. (It had been made by the president-elect, the Rev.John I. Jenkins, who took office seven months later.)

When controversy visits places such as Duke and Notre Dame, mightyinstitutions with a carefully cultivated image, the press naturallypounces. Harvard University, which in February saw its president,Lawrence Summers, resign under pressure, is but another example.Caught in this maelstrom, what does one do? A few pieces of advice:

Be true to your school. Administrators need to keep remindingthemselves of the values to which they ascribe under normalconditions. And they need to keep reminding themselves of who theyare as an enterprise.

Within legal and logical reason, be transparent, and, no matterwhat, tell the truth. Universities, even private ones like Duke,have quasi-public obligations. Truth is the bedrock of theeducational process and that line cannot be crossed.

Not everyone is reading and remembering every word as you are.Remember, most Americans are still getting their kids to soccerpractice and doing the other necessities of life. They are nothanging by their televisions for the next bulletin from NorthCarolina.

Take the long view. The same intensity of 24-hour, Internet-fednews cycles will eventually work in your favor. Somebody or someenterprise is going to take your place in the barrel. And what willyou be left with? Will parents counsel their children to avoidapplying to an elite school like Duke? Does anyone think Harvardpermanently lost a millimeter of prestige over the Summers imbroglio?

To test this last notion, I did a LexisNexis search of the word"Harvard" in The New York Times for the month of March. There were180 items that included the word, only 30 of which also referred toSummers, and the vast majority of those did not involve thecontroversy. The citations included obituaries and weddingannouncements, but most reflected the faculty's educational authorityor the university's prestige. It's an average of nearly six mentionsper day. Not bad for a place that suffered a substantialembarrassment the previous month.

There are serious issues within the Duke community. But when itcomes to image and public relations, Duke should know that thecaravan will move on. Then it can concentrate on whatever long-termremedies are required and the PR folks can get back on the phone tothe Chronicle of Higher Education.