Emergency Notification Systems and EDUCAUSE Live!

Tune in November 5 for a talk with Erv Blythe, vice president for information technology at Virginia Tech. During this hour-long, free EDUCAUSE Live! Web seminar, Blythe will discuss the IT-related lessons the university has learned from the tragic shootings that took place on campus this past spring, including:

• The impact on the university's communication system
• The notification issue
• Radio communications interoperability
• The complex logistics of accommodating the communications infrastructure and control center needs for a variety of emergency responders and law enforcement
• Identity management and privacy
• Data preservation and computer forensics

He will also consider overarching federal, state, and local policy issues and ways in which the university has managed them.

In the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, colleges and universities across the country are reviewing their emergency preparedness plans and evaluating their ability to quickly notify constituents in crisis situations. Networked technologies (posting notices on Web sites, e-mailing information, and sending text messages to cell phones) are among the most promising solutions. As campuses explore options for their emergency communication plan, they must also consider infrastructure and policy and procedural components.

In this free May 3 EDUCAUSE Live! Web seminar, Emergency Notification Systems for a Mobile Community, Rodney J. Petersen, Government Relations Officer and Security Task Force Coordinator, EDUCAUSE, and Mark Katsouros, Director, Telecommunication and Network Services, The University of Iowa, will provide an overview of the strategies for emergency notifications of students, employees, and visitors, as well as a context and resources for campus emergency preparedness planning.