3
PEACE OF MIND A special enrollment for supplemental life insurance is offered to faculty and staff Oct. 27 through Nov. 14 at a 5 percent discount.
N EWS YO U CA N U S E
4 ::
ROCK, BLUEGRASS, PUNK Duke boasts a treasure trove of faculty and staff who moonlight in bands in a variety of musical genres.
7
Vo l u m e 3 , I s s u e 8
::
SUSTAINABLE DUKE Faculty and staff can save up to 60 percent by buying bus passes at Duke for city and regional bus lines.
October 2008
Only A Test
“
A Duke student on West Campus passes by DukeALERT posters describing the university’s various emergency notification methods.
DUKE COMMUNITY ASKED TO HELP ASSESS EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM t’s 11 a.m. on a Tuesday. DukeALERT name, include e-mail alerts, an emergency website, an In the distance, sirens blare. Your mobile phone chimes with a text outdoor warning system and text messaging, among others. message, just as an e-mail flashes in your inbox. Both include the The emergency website, emergency.duke.edu, was redesigned this heading: “DukeALERT.” summer and now offers easy access by iPhone and other mobile devices. Now what? A blog on the site will be activated in certain emergencies, making the That’s the question Duke officials want students, faculty website a central information source with updates as situations unfold. and staff to consider Oct. 7 during a campus-wide test Two other notification tools came on-line over of the DukeALERT notification system. the summer – the outdoor warning system and text Aaron Graves, associate vice president for Campus Each of these tools messaging service. The campus-wide network of sirens Safety and Security, said activating DukeALERT for will blast warning tones and voice messages to alert has been tested this first system-wide test will help Duke community people outdoors during life-threatening emergencies. individually, but we have members become more familiar with how they will Duke launched text messaging in August; within the be notified in an emergency and what they should not tested them collectively, first month, more than 2,500 students, faculty and staff do in response. as they would be used during enrolled through the emergency website. The first text “We hope we’ll only need to activate this system message was sent Aug. 24, after a reported robbery of an emergency.” for testing,” Graves said. “But if we need to use it in a a Duke student. real emergency, the testing will help people quickly As part of the federal Clery Act, universities are — Richard Riddell, recognize the source and nature of any alert message.” Vice President and required by law to send timely warnings to students Crisis Coordinator Graves said circumstances in an actual emergency and employees of crimes that pose an ongoing threat will dictate specific actions to take, such as evacuating, and occur on or immediately adjacent to campus. taking shelter or securing the area. Deborah Johnson, assistant vice provost, said she On Oct. 7, the only action Duke community members will be asked to saw first-hand during preparations for Tropical Storm Hanna the benefits take is to respond to an online survey to assess the effectiveness of various of having an emergency management plan and DukeALERT. The blog DukeALERT communication methods. The survey, which will be posted on on the emergency website was activated as the storm crawled toward the emergency.duke.edu and promoted through various channels, will help North Carolina coast and Please see the DukeALERT poster determine which methods worked best for different groups. The results will offered information about the inside to post in your office and turn also help identify areas for improvement. evacuation of undergraduate to the back page for a Q&A with Duke's crisis coordinator. “Each of these tools has been tested individually, but we have not students at the Marine Lab tested them collectively, as they would be used during an emergency,” said in Beaufort. Richard Riddell, vice president and university secretary, who is Duke’s crisis “Getting people to sit down and talk about what needs to happen coordinator. “It is important for us to do this to troubleshoot issues that has been a good thing,” said Johnson, director of administrative and may not have emerged in testing these systems independently.” community support services. “The more we are aware and the more we Duke improved and enhanced its notification and response plans communicate with each other, it shows what this is all about – our safety.” following a 2007 review of its emergency management capabilities. The — By Paul Grantham and Steve Hartsoe university now has new protocols, procedures and tools to quickly and Offices of Communication Services and News and Communications effectively communicate during an emergency such as a tornado, campus violence or chemical spill. The notification methods, unified under the
I
2008 Gold Medal, Internal Periodical Staff Writing 2007 Bronze Medal, Print Internal Audience Tabloids/Newsletters
This paper consists of 30% recycled post-consumer fiber. Please recycle after reading.