May 21, 2007

WVU Parkersburg completes year-long process to develop campus safety plan.

CONTACT:  Dave White, director of facilities and grounds; campus safety officer, 304-424-8225.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
West Virginia University at Parkersburg has completed a year-long process to develop and implement a comprehensive institutional safety plan.

A committee comprised of a cross-section of students, faculty, staff and administrators participated in developing the plan.  Craig Rabatin, instructor of engineering technology, chaired the group. 

The committee consulted with regional preparedness officials, West Virginia University, Wood County Schools and others to assist in the plan's development.  

"We have a responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy learning and work environment for our faculty, staff, students and visitors on our campus," WVU Parkersburg President Marie Foster Gnage said.

"The heartbreak of the recent Virginia Tech tragedy reinforces the importance of campus safety and the need to be ever vigilant," she added.

"We will continually revisit and refine the safety plan in relation to its relevance and responsiveness," she noted.

The plan covers a range of safety-related procedures and processes regarding basic principles for health/safety; preparedness/response procedures for natural, accidental and societal emergencies; disaster preparedness, including pandemic flu, and Homeland Security-related situations; crisis communication, and evacuation.

It includes safety coordination at the Caperton Center for Applied Technology on campus and the college’s Jackson County Center in Ripley.

While WVU Parkersburg had a number of safety provisions in place, others were developed and implemented to establish a comprehensive approach to campus safety in developing the overall plan.

"The plan provides us with a framework to coordinate immediate response to a threat to the campus’ environment," said Dave White, director of facilities and grounds who also serves as the college’s safety officer. 

“Our on-going goal will be to modify and update our capabilities to enhance our safety responses,” he noted.

White added that the college recently installed a $131,000 paging system to provide classroom connections to campus security and communications staff.

A key element of the plan is communication to the campus community in crisis situations, President Gnage noted. 

Procedures are in place to provide communications to students and college employees via various technologies, including email, voice mail, college web sites, the institution’s closed circuit television system, and the college’s paging system, as well as area media.

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For additional information, contact:
Connie Dziagwa
WVU Parkersburg
Executive Director
Institutional Advancement
(304-424-8203)

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