EDUCAUSE Brings Leaders Together on Campus Security and Emergency Management

EDUCAUSE, the association for information technology in higher education, convened “The Role of Information Technology in Campus Security and Emergency Management,” an invitation-only summit August 17–18 for IT professionals, facilities managers, law enforcement, and other campus leaders to explore how communications and information technologies can be leveraged to address campus security and emergency preparedness.

A principal goal of the summit was to collect a growing body of knowledge on effective, integrated security and emergency management environments for campuses and the community and to encourage collaboration for future projects and innovations in this area. EDUCAUSE President Diana Oblinger observed that “Colleges and universities are subject to all kinds of hazards, ranging from natural disasters to man-made events. The summit explored current approaches and future possibilities for leveraging communications and information technologies as critical components of a comprehensive campus emergency management plan. Bringing together thought leaders to identify emerging practices, policies, and technologies is a valuable service EDUCAUSE can provide to its members and to higher education.”

According to James A. Hyatt, project director and principal investigator for NACUBO’s National Campus Safety and Security Project, “This summit brought together campus leaders who have experienced firsthand the impact and catastrophic loss that natural and man-made disasters can have on campus operations. Attendees also included experts who are working on behalf of their institution to address the risks to cyber, human, and physical assets. The summit also benefited from the active participation of the leaders from several higher education associations. Collectively, this engagement and the information-sharing that will continue after the summit will allow us to make significant progress as we work together to make campuses safer environments for students, employees, and visitors. The National Campus Safety and Security Project, for example, will greatly benefit from the input received during the summit as we enter the field work and information dissemination phases of the project.”

The summit was notable for convening stakeholders from diverse institutional sectors. Valerie Lucus, emergency manager for the University of California, Davis, said, “Emergency preparedness has become an enterprise-wide concern, and people who are responsible for pieces of the strategy—emergency coordinators, public safety officers, risk managers, legal counsel, student affairs officers, CIOs/CBOs/CFOs—need to talk with one another, not only on campus but nationally. EDUCAUSE did a great service in fostering an all-hazards dialogue on minimizing risks to cyber, human, and physical assets.”

The results of the EDUCAUSE summit will be showcased this fall at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference in Orlando and will be shared through other association events and future publications.

About EDUCAUSE

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The current membership comprises more than 2,200 colleges, universities, and educational organizations, including 250 corporations, with 17,000 active members. Learn more about EDUCAUSE at www.educause.edu.