June 7, 2007
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Colleagues:
In my campus memo of April 18, 2007, I talked with you about the emergency response procedures in place on our campus as well as our efforts, in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, to re-evaluate and strengthen our communication and safety systems. I am writing today to update you about these efforts:
* We have completed a campus-wide test of our emergency e-mail system and will be doing an additional test in the near future. This system provides an e-mail notice to all faculty, staff, and students who have a current UCSB e-mail address.
* We will be testing our emergency voice-mail system in the near future, sending a test message to everyone with voice mail.
* We are exploring text-messaging systems for all of our student residents. We will be evaluating the opportunity to expand the test messaging capability to our campus community.
* We are evaluating a "people locator" system currently in use at the Berkeley campus, as a way for students and parents to connect in case of an emergency.
* We are creating an inventory of all "bull horns" on campus and will use them as the components of a flexible public address system capable of blanketing the entire campus in case of an emergency.
* In the event of a campus emergency, information would be broadcast on both 1610 AM and 91.9 FM KCSB radio. We also have flashing informational signs that would be used at campus entrances to provide messages to incoming and outgoing traffic.
We will continue to work together to test, evaluate, and improve the systems and procedures that are in place to protect the safety and well-being of our UCSB family. Thank you for your suggestions and your participation in these efforts. Of all the steps that we can take, and are taking, to prevent a crisis and prepare ourselves to respond effectively in case of a disaster, the most important of all is to remember that we are a community that cares about and looks after each of our members.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor