To better prepare the University for possible emergency situations, University officials have created a new office of emergency preparedness. Marge Sidebottom was named as the office's director earlier this month. "In this day and age, this office is a necessity," former Dean of Students Penny Rue said. "The University is a high-profile institution because it straddles both a city and a county, and with this new office and a higher level of collaboration within the community, we can better communicate and coordinate management." The director position demands someone who works equally well with technical systems and people, someone who can work with the police, the FBI, the community and the University, according to Rue. "I can't think of anyone who would be better to hit the ground running than Marge," Rue said. "She is calmness personified." Sidebottom formerly served as the University Health System director of emergency preparedness. In her new role, she will be responsible for coordinating emergency response plans involving multiple departments to respond to crises such as severe weather or criminal activity requiring immediate response, according to Leonard Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer. "This office will hopefully provide a change that is intended to be for the good of the University and its students, faculty, staff and visitors -- and Marge Sidebottom will be a key figure in making that a possibility," Sandridge said. Sidebottom said she will seek to apply her emergency preparedness tactics for the University Health System to the University as a whole. "This job is about looking at our potential hazards and vulnerabilities and trying to mitigate those," she said. According to Sidebottom, community cohesiveness is an important part of her strategy. "The city, the county and the University work as one and support each other in emergency preparedness," she said. "We are very well-integrated as a community and have made a conscious decision to be so." There are, however, improvements Sidebottom plans to make. She stresses a team approach to emergency preparedness and noted that she plans to solicit student feedback and develop better ways of communicating directly with the University community. "I was involved with the emergency text messaging system, and we are looking into a siren system with a PDA component to use in emergency situations," she said. "We will continue to fine-tune communication for emergency situations." Sidebottom also plans to speak to incoming first-year students about emergency preparedness. "The world continues to change and we need to learn how to respond," Sidebottom said.
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