The University of Delaware can be threatened by emergency and disaster situations both natural, such as, winter storms, hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes, and man-made situations, such as hazardous materials accidents, biological outbreaks, terroristic threats, and criminal activity. When such incidents occur, it is the policy of the University to:
As such, the purpose of the University of Delaware Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) is to establish University policy and procedure for managing events that may threaten the safety and security of people, property, and the environment on any of the University’s campus locations. The University EOP, with external support from the State and County plans, is the basic framework for emergency incident management at the University of Delaware. The comprehensive EOP is activated when an emergency affecting the University reaches proportions that cannot be handled by other established measures. This emergency may be sudden and unforeseen, or there may be varying periods of warning. The EOP is intended to be sufficiently flexible to accommodate contingencies of all types, magnitude, and duration.
The UD Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) establishes a clear authority structure that defines the roles and responsibilities of all administrative staff members that will be involved in emergency situations. The President of the University oversees overall policy and decision-making and the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer is in charge of the overall operations of the University. The Executive Vice President is also the chair of the Critical Incident Management Team (CIMT). In the event of an emergency, the Associate Vice President of Safety and Emergency Management will act as the University’s designated Emergency Manager and UDPD’s Chief of Police will serve as the tactical Incident Commander for the University.
The President, or their designee, provides overall decision-making for the University community. They also authorize the activation of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), may declare a University wide emergency, serves as a liaison with the Board of Trustees, and acts as a public representative to external agencies.
The Executive Vice President is the Chair of the CIMT. They are responsible for assembling and directing the CIMT and its groups. They also liaise with the Associate Vice President of Safety and Emergency Management and the Chief of Police and communicate with the President and other members of the CIMTY Policy Group to report the status of crisis response and recovery operations.
The Associate Vice President of Safety and Emergency Management is charged with acting as the official Emergency Manager for the University during emergency situations. They will liaise with the Incident Commander, the EOC staff and others during the incident and work to respond effectively and efficiently to the incident at hand. They will also report all operations to the Executive Vice President, serve as a liaison between the University and on-scene responders and reports response activity status from the EOC to the CIMT Policy Group.
The Associate Director of Emergency Management is responsible for providing basic guidelines for emergency planning, response, mitigation, and recovery/continuity of operations, as well as reviewing completed plans, coordinating emergency planning, training and exercises with other jurisdictions and agencies, and responding to assist in the management of emergency incidents. During disasters and emergencies, the Associate Director of Emergency Management will serve as the Emergency Operations Center Manager, liaise with outside responding partner agencies, and serve as the University’s Deputy Emergency Manager in support of the Associate Vice President of Safety and Emergency Management.
The Critical Incident Management Team (CIMT) is comprised of two groups: the Policy Group and the Operations Group.
Policy GroupThe role of the Policy Group is to be a decision-making body for the University on issues related to the emergency, and to support the EOC, Incident Commander, and any external agencies responding to the scene. The CIMT will not respond to the scene, nor will they normally manage the initial response to an incident. It is generally the responsibility of emergency responders at the scene, with support from the Operations Group (duties outlined below) to isolate, contain and neutralize the incident.
The priorities of the Policy Group are to:
The Policy Group is comprised of the following standing committee members:
Operations GroupThe role of the Operations Group is to be a tactical decision-making body for incident operations. The Operations Group is then convened on an as needed basis, as the Incident Response Team, at the request of the President, Executive Vice President, the Associate Vice President of Safety and Emergency Management or, in situations where the threat is imminent, the Chief of Police.
The priorities of the Operations Group are to:
The Operations Group is comprised of the following senior staff members or their delegates:
Other agencies/departments that may be added for subject matter expertise:
While professional first responders are trained to be ready to mobilize at a moment’s notice, the reality is that normal everyday people are always the first ones on scene during a crisis. As such, the University of Delaware approaches emergency preparedness from the “Whole Community” perspective. Meaning faculty, staff, students, parents, and visitors are encouraged to do the following:
