2008 President's Report
Always Prepared
College Hones Campus Safety Plan
Keeping the campus safe and preparing for emergencies are two items on the current campus agenda.
Although no one wants or expects a disaster or emergency to take place on campus, administration wants to make sure everyone is prepared for any potential emergency the college may encounter. It is essential to know what steps to take and who to call in a crisis.
The first emergency planning seminar college personnel attended was CERT (Campus Emergency Response Training), held last year for building supervisors at the Advanced Technology Center. Each building on campus has one person designated as that building’s supervisor, and these individuals were trained on what to do in different emergency situations.
This past fall, Dr. Samuel Jones also conducted a crisis prevention session for new faculty. Dr. Jones spearheaded the emergency preparedness plans currently being introduced to college personnel.
Based on recommendations from Homeland Security and MEMA, a tabletop exercise was held on campus to allow the college and local law enforcement/emergency personnel to understand their roles and how to interact with one another depending on the crisis.
In July, a functional exercise was held on campus. Members of the campus police, Ellisville Police department, Jones County Sheriff’s department, Ellisville Fire Department, and administration participated in the walk-through exercise.
During the exercise, Campus Police Chief Wayne Pilgrim received a call that there was a hostage situation in the mathematics building. Using radios and cell phones, Campus Police then notified the proper authorities and administration. An emergency text message and listserve email notification was sent out campus wide to notify everyone of the emergency scenario. The college’s web site was also updated. All responding agencies explained what they would need on the scene, what they would do, and how they would communicate.
Said Jones, “The exercise allowed us to assess the direction and control of emergency management, our individual department and system performance, our decision making process, our communication and information sharing among organizations, and how allocation of resources and personnel will be used in the event of an emergency.”
To help all faculty and staff learn what to do in emergency situations, they will each receive a copy of the emergency procedures handbook, the Emergency Operations Plan will be posted on the college website, and an EOP overview will be given during the fall faculty orientation. These steps will ensure everyone has an understanding of the college’s procedures in case of an emergency.
“We need to understand that we will have to depend on one another. It’s going to take the entire campus to make sure the college is prepared,” said Jones.
President's Report >> Designed For Greatness
