Gazette Online, IA
08-23-07
Universities seek faster emergency notices
By Diane Heldt
The Gazette
diane.heldt@gazettecommunications.com
Faster notification to students, faculty and staff of campus emergencies and
security concerns is a top priority for safety officials at the University of Iowa,
Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa.
A better mass notification system also was among the recommendations of an
internal safety review by Virginia Tech officials released Wednesday. The review
was undertaken after the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech that left 32 dead.
Department of Public Safety officials at the UI, ISU and UNI said they will
review the Virginia Tech report, which also recommends installing locks on
classroom doors, evaluating a centrally controlled key card access to some
buildings, and implementing better policies to identify and respond to troubled
faculty, staff or students.
``I've been waiting for the Virginia Tech report to come out,'' said Gene
Deisinger, commander of special operations for ISU Police. ``If there are
things we can
learn from it to apply to our campus, that's what we want to do.''
The UI, ISU and UNI reviewed campus safety after the Virginia Tech shootings,
at the request of Gov. Culver, and submitted a report to the state Board of
Regents. The regents are to discuss campus safety in September.
The UI, ISU and UNI are all working on better notification systems for campus
emergencies. University officials say they want to use a variety of methods,
including text messaging to cell phones, to get the word out faster.
The UI is installing an outdoor warning system this week, Public Safety Director
Chuck Green said. The system will include four towers on the main campus and
one on the Oakdale campus that will broadcast severe weather alerts and also
allow live voice messaging and automated messages, he said.
The UI also is implementing a new system this fall, HawkAlert, to send voice or
text messages via cell phone, land line phone or computer to subscribers. The
current emergency alert system, done via e-mail, can take up to two hours to
notify everyone.
``We're looking for something that can push out an emergency message,'' he
said.
All three universities also are looking at better policies for identifying and dealing
with troubled students, faculty or staff, officials said.