Maryville University Implements Emergency Message System

Maryville University has adopted a new campus notification system, Saints Alert, which enables the University to send urgent news to your electronic communication device. Once you sign up for the service, the University can text your electronic communication device with timely information about emergencies affecting the Maryville community. Depending on your cell phone plan, there may be a nominal fee from your carrier to receive text messages but there is no charge from Maryville to use the service. The alert system is available to all current faculty, staff and students. The new system, powered by e2Campus, enables Maryville officials to send instant alerts directly to registered subscribers’ e-mail accounts and mobile phones via SMS text messages. Alerts also can be received via RSS Wireless PDA, “My Yahoo,” “My AOL” or personalized "iGoogle" home page. “It is evident from Virginia Tech as well as Hurricane Katrina that campuses must find ways to better communicate to the campus community in a timely manner. Text messaging has proven to be a valuable option,” said Michael Parkinson, Maryville’s director of public safety. “We know a majority of people carry their cell phones at all times, so now we can reach them with important information that may end up saving their lives.” The Saints Alert is just one part of the overall emergency mass communication plan being developed for the University. Parkinson stated the University is currently reviewing the possibility of adding an outdoor warning system to help supplement the plan. “Once our community members sign up, the alerts go right to their cell phones the minute something happens,” he said. “However, it only works if you take a minute to register yourself in the system.” To sign up for Saints Alert, go to the Maryville website homepage, www.maryville.edu., and click on the Saints Alert icon (pictured at right) in the bottom right corner. You will be asked to enter your Maryville username and password. After completing the sign-up page, you will receive a validation code on your electronic communication device. You must enter the code to complete the process to sign up for the text messaging. All users are encouraged to sign up for the e-mail alerts, especially if your phone does not allow text messages. For more information, call Parkinson at extension 9564.

Maryville Receives Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Award Maryville University President Mark Lombardi, Ph.D., center, and Mike Parkinson, director of public safety, right, receive the prestigious Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Award from Catherine Bath, executive director of Security on Campus.

Maryville University Wins Prestigious Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Award 
On July 26th & 27th, Maryville University was host to over 120 campus officials from 80 different college & universities from all over the United States. The seminar, sponsored by Security on Campus, Inc., a non-profit campus security watchdog group, is providing training to help universities ensure they are complying with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. During the seminar, Maryville University received the prestigious Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Award from Security on Campus for its leadership in being one of the six universities nationwide to host the training. "We are very grateful to the six universities which stepped up to the plate on short notice, offering not only their facilities but also their staff's time and expertise in ensuring that these seminars will be successful," said Catherine Bath, executive director of Security on Campus.  The award, established in  1994, is presented each year by Howard & Connie Clery to honor schools and individuals that have done extraordinary things to make college and university students safer.  Click here to read the article in the Maryville Messenger

Public Safety Department Hosts Incident Command Systems Class
In July 2007, the public safety department hosted the three-day course, “Simulation-based Incident Command System (ICS) Training for Command Post & Public Safety Response Personnel.” sponsored by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) through a grant from the Department of Homeland Security.  This training provided a nationally recognized program to standardize the response of campus public safety command-level personnel and their mutual aid partners to all types of serious incidents. It presented all stages of the National Incident Management System (NIMS), and trained supervisory personnel in the application of ICS and the Unified Command concept. It provided a multi-disciplinary approach to incident management. The training covered all stages of the incident life cycle: prevention, preparedness, response (broken down into three phases), recovery, and mitigation, with exercises in a “model city” environment. The training methodology consisted of classroom instruction (response strategy, Incident Command System, NIMS), case studies (an in-depth examination of past response strategies in major events), and simulation exercises offering hands-on experience in response stage and incident management using ICS.