April 28, 2008—The University of Central Florida is moving forward with a new security plan that includes bi-annual emergency scenario training, installing emergency alert systems and hiring a full-time emergency preparedness coordinator.
The school created its own security task force to evaluate current policies and make changes where needed. It will also launch an emergency notification system that includes text messaging, message boards that are placed along highways heading toward the university and sirens that will ring during any emergency, such as a campus shooting, chemical spill or natural disaster.
“You can’t reach everybody on campus if you only have one system in place,” Lee Kernek, UCF associate vice president of administration and finance and vice chair of the Task Force for University Campus Safety, said. “This enables us to reach out to students and staff in multiple ways.”
In March, the university hired Jeff Morgan as its emergency coordinator. UCF is only one of five universities in Florida to have a full-time person in this position.
“Emergency management is not a part-time job,” Morgan said. “My goal is to make sure we have systems in place to effectively handle any emergency.” For more information, see the UCF Web site.
