Crisis Management Team
Meeting Notes
September 11, 2014
Attendance:
1.
B. Beilfuss, C. Bushnell, B. Dahl, S. Fejdasz, S. Fulk, J. Gabbert, O. Jefimenko, D. Malik,
W. Lowe, K. Malone, K. Manteuffel, J. Pellicciotti, E. Rose, S. Schaefer, C. Shannon,
B. Smith, T. Wyatt, C. Wood, P. Woosley, M. Zagorac
Approval of Minutes
The minutes from July 10, 2014 were approved.
2.
Announcement: Upcoming “Gear Up Get Ready” Educational Event
Crystal Shannon reported that she and a group of students conducted a community assessment this
summer and surveyed approximately 400-500 people from all over Lake County. Their goal was to
find out the level of preparedness for different types of disasters. The survey concluded that the
majority of people were not prepared. There is a national campaign going on called “Gear Up, Get
Ready,” intended to help people prepare for an emergency. She and the students will be working
with various community organizations in Northwest Indiana to host this event on campus and in the
local community, in late October or early November. The event will teach people how to put together
a “to go” kit, and will illustrate the types of information needed. She is working with community
agencies and hospitals and will be the representative for IU Northwest. As soon as a date is set, she
will send out a campus announcement.
3.
Discussion: After-Action-Report for July “Active Shooter” Event
Bill Smith reported that the active shooter drill held in July was measured on public information and
warning, operational communication, situational assessment, and operational coordination. He
commended the CMT for a job well done throughout the drill.
Bill Smith presented an outline of the recommendation for the structure of the EOC on campus and
asked Chancellor Lowe for his input. Chancellor Lowe stated that he would prefer to have a larger
policy group to include his entire leadership team in addition to student affairs, IT, and the vice
chancellor for administration. He stated that, during discussions throughout the day in the drill, those
Leadership Group areas were all critical in the ability to carry out the exercise well. Bill Smith
cautioned that having a large policy group could pull him away from the bigger picture. A brief
discussion followed on who should be included in the EOC during different situations. It was noted
that EH&S was not included in the EOC structure presented. Chancellor Lowe also supports Kathryn
Manteuffel as EOC convener.
Bill Smith recommended that the Chancellor give some thought on appointing one or two assistants
who would be responsible for answering phones, taking notes, and keeping track of people coming in
and out. In addition, he recommended that some thought be given as to the individuals to secure
contracts and MOU’s with other universities. Further discussion occurred as to who and what other
areas would be included within the policy group at given times throughout an emergency. Bill Smith
stated that IU Northwest will need to complete the Delegation of Authority Letter again since
personnel changes have occurred and the previous version has Joe Romero’s signature on it.
After all areas and responsibilities are identified, a procedure will need to be created. Information that
is gathered from all areas during an emergency will aid the Chancellor when speaking with the media.
The EOC will be the conduit for all information. After the policy group and EOC are organized, the
next step is training.
A discussion was entered on communication and movement during an active shooter event on
campus. Chancellor Lowe stated that the conference line worked very well. He felt that they
communicated and worked very well together considering they were operating from at least three
different locations.
Bill Smith presented an example of oversized charts available online for all campuses to use in the
EOC. He stated that these will help to establish the EOC after an incident occurs by charting the
time, location, area’s affected, police perimeters, evacuation plans and injuries. Oversized charts will
also be crucial to identify key locations, track and contact victims, for communications, and to secure
business continuity plans and emergency actions plans. All relevant information regarding the event
should be posted to these boards. The charts can be altered to accommodate all campuses.
Bill Smith will send a copy of the meeting documents he presented, with changes, to Joe Pellicciotti.
General Discussion and Questions
A question was raised regarding the operation of the JIC (Joint Information Center). Bill Smith stated
that the JIC is a conduit for all information from different agencies that will be used to put together an
agreed upon message that is simple and concise. A person within the JIC will share urgent
communications with the EOC by having direct communication with the PIO.
A question was raised about the alternate location for the CMT during an emergency. Kathryn
Manteuffel stated that Hawthorn Hall 108 has been designated as the alternate meeting place and
there has been discussion on using the Arts on Grant facility for an off-site location. Bill Smith stated
that it would be a good idea to put the alternate meeting locations on the wallet card.
Bill Smith shared a situation that happened on a separate campus and asked members of the BCT
for their comments. A brief discussion followed on using a matrix to evaluate threat levels and when
to notify the Chancellor.
A question was raised on the purpose of having two different conference lines listed on the wallet
guide. Bill Smith explained that there were previous discussions about situations where the
Chancellor may want to have conversations with other team members outside of the policy group.
The two lines can also be used as a back-up.
Bill Smith announced a new communications director, John Erickson, who will start on October 1 and
comes from Homeland Security. One of his responsibilities will be coordinating PIO’s and
communications at all campuses to talk about disaster training.
Bill Smith announced that he will be out of the office September 18-30. He has been asked to write
emergency action plans for the 62 armories in the State of Indiana.
Meeting Adjourned
The next regular meeting of the CMT will be held on November 13, 2014, 10-11 am.
Submitted by Jackie Peyton
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