Dean Hammonds Pledges Better Communication in Times of Crisis

A day after students criticized the University for how it communicated with undergraduates in the hours following two bomb explosions at the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon, Dean of the College Evelynn M. Hammonds told students in an email that Harvard “can and will do better to communicate with our community in times of crisis.”

Though the two bombs detonated at approximately 2:50 p.m. Monday, College students did not receive official word from the University about the incident until 5:17 p.m.

Students questioned the University’s decision not to alert undergraduates to the crisis earlier, through either email or the University-wide notifcation service MessageMe.

In her email Tuesday afternoon, Hammonds acknowledged some of those complaints.

“Some students have raised questions about the timeliness of the College’s notification of students,” the email reads.

Hammonds wrote that Harvard’s priority was to work with the Harvard University Police Department “to ensure that there was no security threat to the College campus” and to find and support Harvard affiliates involved in the incident, adding that the College “actively” reached out to House administrators and University Health Services on Monday.

She also wrote that “yesterday’s events were extremely fluid and it took time to sort fact from rumor” before saying that Harvard could improve its communication at times of crisis.

Hammonds’s email also thanked members of the Harvard community who “rallied to help those in need” in wake of the bombings Monday and reminded students of University mental health resources. She also encouraged students to attend the Undergraduate Council’s vigil at Memorial Church Tuesday night.

—Staff writer Madeline R. Conway can be reached at mconway@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @MadelineRConway.