Posts Tagged: communication
April 12th, 2011
of your Emergency Response System
Mary Chappell, Director
Jason Krone, Associate Director, Programs, Sport Club Director
Jill Urkoski; Associate Director, Fitness and Staff Development
University of Kansas Recreation Services
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The fast pace world in which we live in most definitely leaves us vulnerable to all types of risk. For those who work on today’s college campuses, it is a 24/7 duty cycle that transitions from Fall to Winter, Spring to Summer, Semesters to Quarters, and Event to Event.
When a campus incident rocks your world and that of your staff and participants, have you asked yourself “Are you ready to respond?”. Can you truthfully say that you have a plan in place for everything from evacuations, to sheltering in place? Can you say that your staff is ready to respond should they be called on to do so? If not, you are strongly recommended to start the planning process as soon as you finish reading this response guideline. The time is now. Call a staff meeting, and begin the process to develop an Emergency Response Plan that works for your Campus Recreation core mission: a plan that becomes embedded in the framework of your department, unit, reporting structure and campus environment. Quoting Frank De Salvo, Associate Vice Provost at the University of Kansas: “Emergency response preparation is not only valuable in the case of unforeseen circumstances. Such processes also contribute to team building, role clarification and accountability among staff members at all levels of the organization. It is clearly a prudent and profitable investment of time and energy.”
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April 12th, 2011
Christopher Tapfer
Emergency Management Coordinator
Washington State University
Since the tragedy at Virginia Tech last year, a key topic of discussion on college campuses has been emergency communications. Some of the dozens of reports that were developed about the Virginia Tech incident criticized the University for failing to communicate the danger of the situation to its campus community until it was too late. This is a matter of debate, and won’t be discussed here, but the issue did focus attention on the need for a college to have an adequate supply of tools that can be used to inform, warn and notify a campus of emergency situations quickly and efficiently.
During the discussions about the incident at Virginia Tech, the topic of the Clery Act was brought up many times. The key issue related to the Clery Act was the requirements for “timely warnings to the campus community about crimes that pose an ongoing threat to students and employees” and whether or not Virginia Tech failed in their duty to comply with the Act. Again, this is a matter for others to decide, but it is important that you have an awareness of what the Clery Act is and isn’t, and how it can impact a college campus.
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April 07th, 2011
A Critical Part of your Emergency Planning
Chris Tapfer
Emergency Management Coordinator
Washington State University
An often forgotten element of the emergency planning equation is what you will do to keep the essential aspects of your program intact and functional during an emergency. The answer is Continuance of Operations Planning or COOP. This term can best be defined as “Efforts within individual organizations to ensure continuance of their minimum essential functions across a wide range of potential emergencies”. COOP is a necessary part of any college or university’s emergency planning as well as for each of the units making up the institution. COOP provides the structure to maintain what’s necessary during an emergency situation.
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April 07th, 2011
Missie McGuire
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
Tulane University
Emergency Preparedness begins with an organized university-wide pre-storm and post-storm response to any natural disaster your campus may be susceptible to. There should be three primary objectives to an emergency plan in a collegiate environment: 1) to provide safety and security for students, faculty and staff, 2) to assist in minimizing and mitigating property damage, and 3) to provide a blueprint for the restoration and resumption of academic and business operations.
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