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Home > Emergency Management Committee

Appendix 1: Authorities Responsible for Handling Specific Situations

  1. Safety of students, faculty, staff and affected community residents
    1. Emergency medical services
      1. External (Chicago Fire Department)
      2. Internal (first aid by the University Police Department, when appropriate)
    2. Search and rescue
      1. External (Chicago Fire Department)
    3. Evacuation and relocation (Deputy Dean of Student Services and/or Real Estate Operations)
      1. Shelter in place (with concurrence of Chicago Fire Department)
      2. Emergency shelter: short-term, in alternative University Buildings
      3. Emergency shelter: long-term, in hotels or facilities recommended by the Red Cross
      4. Public health and sanitation
        1. External (Provided by Chicago Fire Department, or by state or local health agencies)
        2. Internal (Safety Office)

  2. Mitigation of damage, including the safety and protection of research animals
    1. Hazard control
      1. Fire suppression (Chicago Fire Department)
      2. Hazardous materials (safety supported by Chicago Fire Department)
      3. Law enforcement and crime prevention (University Police Department, Chicago Police Department)
    2. Safety and protection of research animals (Animal Resources Center)
      1. The University of Chicago Medical Center has provision in its emergency procedures for caring for research animals in an emergency. It will follow those guidelines with the goals of providing proper care, minimizing disruption to research, and meeting regulatory requirements 
    3. Restoration of utilities
      1. Telephone/Internet (ITS)
      2. Electric (Facilities Services/Commonwealth Edison)
      3. Steam (Facilities Services)
      4. Water (Facilities Services/City of Chicago)
      5. Natural gas (Facilities Services/Peoples Gas)
    4. Damage assessment and control (Facilities Services)

  3. Communication with University Constituencies: EC
    1. University community (students, faculty, staff, their families; Hyde Park neighbors; trustees)
    2. External community

  4. Recovery and restoration of operations
    1. Students (Vice-President and Dean of Students in the University)
      1. Counseling
      2. Family relations/communication
    2. All University Employees
      1. Employee tracking (Human Resource Services, Provost’s Office, and departments, divisions, and schools)
      2. Employee labor pool (“non-essential” employees—those not needed to do their regular tasks under ategory II or III conditions who could be deployed to assist with recovery efforts (Departments, divisions, and schools with guidance from Policy Group, Vice Presidents, and Deans)
      3. Volunteer Coordination
      4. Psychological needs (Human Resource Services, Dean of Rockefeller Chapel, and Perspectives–the Staff and Faculty Assistance Program)
    3. Teaching
      1. Refer to institutional guidance online and/or through alternate communications channels regarding availability of regular or temporary classrooms and teaching spaces.
        Certain laboratory and other specialized teaching spaces may be more difficult to replicate or substitute.
      2. If regular classrooms or temporary classrooms are unavailable, use Chalk and/or alternate means to communicate with students, post notes for a missed lecture or course, distribute assignments, and keep classes moving forward to the extent feasible. https://chalk.uchicago.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp
      3. Anticipate the need for proctored, make-up exams.
      4. Offer students opportunities to make up work as needed and appropriate.
      5. Consult with chair or dean to determine what teaching support personnel may be needed for you to resume teaching.
      6. Consult with your chair, dean,, or area dean of students for advice on particularly complicated situations.
    4. Research
      1. Refer to University website and/or alternate communications channels for information regarding availability of research facilities such as the libraries, laboratories, faculty offices, etc.
      2. Refer to University website and/or alternate communications. To the extent feasible, faculty members and researchers may wish to accomplish some research tasks remotely, such as from home.
    5. Business Operations
      1. Continuity of essential services
        1. Space allocations (Policy Group and Facilities Services)
        2. Emergency supplies and equipment acquisition (Department, division, and school administrators, Purchasing & Payment Services)
        3. Central Administration Business Services (Policy Group, Facilities Services, Financial Services, Human Resources Services ITS)—for examples, but not limited to:
          1. Direct Payment Voucher processing (Financial Services)
          2. Payroll Processing (Financial Services)
          3. Benefits Administration (Human Resource Services)
          4. Employee Records (Human Resource Services and Provost’s Office)
          5. Web services (ITS)
          6. System Access (ITS)
          7. Systems Administration (ITS)
          8. Building Engineer Resources (Facilities Services)
      2. Discontinuance of non-essential activities that may impede recovery (Policy Group, Deans, Vice Presidents)
      3. Damage documentation, including insurance/FEMA claims (Risk Management and Financial Services)

  5. Property Conservation
    1. Emergency repair of structural damage (depending on who has responsibility for the building: Facilities Services, Biological Sciences Division, Real Estate Operations, Residence Halls and Commons)
    2. Salvage of building contents (Facilities Services and Risk Management, working with departments/divisions/investigators)
      1. Research material
      2. Books, documents, vital records
      3. Contents
      4. Furnishings