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Emergency Preparedness

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In September of 2008, AU President Rebecca L. Sherrick created the Office of Emergency Preparedness.

The mission of Aurora University's Office of Emergency Preparedness is to lessen the effects of disaster on the lives and property of the students, employees and visitors of  through planning, coordination, and support in the four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.  

In July of 2008, President George W. Bush signed the Higher Education Act. In August of 2008, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed the Campus Safety Enhancement Act, which mandates colleges and universities to enhance the safety and security of students, faculty and staff by implementing a Campus Emergency Operation Plan.

Members of AU's senior staff, the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Campus Public Safety, along with representatives from across the university, revisited our current plan to make the necessary changes to comply with the mandates. Plans are currently underway to update and test our plan and provide training to the campus community so that we will be prepared to respond quickly and effectively if a crisis occurs. An emergency response plan is never complete. It is constantly subject to training, tabletop exercises, drills and evaluation.

 With the assistance of the Director of Emergency Preparedness, each department at AU and GWC will be required to develop their own emergency operation plan.

 From an emergency preparedness perspective, the best-case scenario is to be prepared at the department level to respond quickly and effectively in order to mitigate an emergency on our campus. The Office of Emergency Preparedness and the Department of Campus Public Safety is well trained to respond to any sort of emergency, and can call upon the resources of local and state law enforcement agencies when needed.

 In April of 2007 and February of 2008, the nation was stunned by the horrific news out of Virginia Tech, and NIU. In light of those tragic circumstances, we have reexamined our plan and looked at ways we can improve our preparation, emergency communications, training and planning .Prevention policies include building evacuation and lock-down plans, a campus-wide alert system, and emergency-preparedness training. The university works closely with the local police and fire departments in response to all emergencies.

 Just as the university will be taking stock of how best to be prepared, there are steps individuals can take to help prevent a worst-case scenario. Always be vigilant and aware of your surroundings. If something does not look right, if it does not feel right, let someone know. Trust your internal instinct.

AU needs your eyes and ears; it takes an entire campus community to make it safe. These precautions may prove invaluable during an actual crisis and are good habits to ensure your personal safety.

  In a best-case scenario, we will learn new ways to prepare, protect and safeguard our campus for a day all of us hope will never come.

Please note: Faculty, staff and students can sign up for Emergency Notification Text Messaging through WebAdvisor