Contact: Sid Salter
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s Crisis Action Team will test the ability of the university’s Starkville campus to centrally lock all electronically controlled exterior doors as part of an emergency preparedness drill on Monday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m.
The drill tests the emergency response skills of top administrators, building managers, and key decision makers during a practice scenario and training session.
MSU Emergency Manager Brent Crocker said he expects the drill to last approximately one hour.
“The test will centrally lock all electronically controlled exterior doors or utilize our building managers to manually lock mechanical hardware,” said Crocker. “However, building occupants will still be able to exit their buildings. Card access will still be functional, so those with card access can still enter. MSU building managers and operators will receive additional university communications regarding their duties during the drill.”
The university’s Crisis Action Team meets regularly to ensure that members are prepared to respond to a variety of potential threats to the campus community. The most common type of threats includes inclement weather incidents, but the team trains for a wide variety of other potential emergency situations.
Media inquiries should be made to MSU Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter, who is also a CAT member, at ssalter@opa.msstate.edu or 601-507-8004.
“Clearly, regular training and drills sharpen our university’s ability to respond decisively in times of real threat or crisis,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. “We’re committed to exploring ways that we can make our campus even safer. I appreciate the leadership of our Crisis Action Team as this process continues to grow and evolve.”
MSU Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Hyatt said such exercises and drills allow an opportunity to ensure the team’s processes and policies are working as they are intended to work. She noted that it is important for team members to spend time working with one another, learning strengths and opportunities, so they can operate well as a team in times of crisis.
“The adage ‘practice makes perfect’ is certainly applicable to our work as a Crisis Action Team. We hope to never have to use these procedures, yet we need to ensure that in times of real crisis they can be deployed effectively,” Hyatt said.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.