Environmental Health and Safety

X. Tyler Area Support

XI. Incidents Involving Students

Students are defined as any currently enrolled student. Immediate response is provided to prevent and reduce injuries including appropriate emotional support to members of the student community. Incidents involving students may include: death of a student, faculty, or staff; attempted suicide; life threatening injury/illness; sexual assault; mental health crisis; drug/alcohol overdose; campus disturbance/riot; contacting students in cases of family emergency; international hostage situations/kidnappings. The above list is not intended to cover all situations that warrant crisis response intervention.

Initial Procedure

In the event of a crisis incident involving a currently enrolled student, the university police should be notified immediately. The university police will follow initial call list above. Specific procedures for each type of potential incident are detailed in Appendix A.

Campus Notification

The team A coordinator may confer with other members of the crisis management team to determine whether notification of other departments on campus is warranted.

Media Relations

The team A coordinator will maintain contact with the Director of News and Information with the details and discuss whether a news release is warranted or indicated to inform the campus community or the public about the details of an incident.

XII. Incidents Involving Faculty/Staff

Incidents involving Faculty/Staff are defined as incidents where a faculty or staff member is involved in a disturbance, accident, or injury. The situation may involve death or injury to an employee, infectious disease, or a mental health crisis. Specific procedures for each type of incident are detailed in Appendix B.

Initial Procedures

In the event of a crisis incident involving a faculty or staff member, the university police should be notified immediately. The university police will follow initial call list above. Specific procedures for each type of potential incident are detailed in Appendix B.

Campus Notification

The team B coordinator may confer with other members of the crisis management team to determine whether notification of other departments on campus is warranted.

Media Relations

The team B coordinator will maintain contact the Director of News and Information and decide whether a news release is warranted or indicated to inform the campus community or the public about the details of an incident.

XIII. Incidents Involving Natural/Man-Made Disasters

Natural/Man-Made Disasters are define as an event that has the potential for disrupting activities in one or more buildings on campus requiring faculty, staff, students, and visitors to evacuate an area, a building, or the campus. These would include fires, explosions, hazardous materials incidents, bomb threats, campus disturbance, severe weather including thunderstorms, tornados, and ice storms.

Initial Procedures

In the event of a crisis incident involving a currently enrolled student, the university police should be notified immediately. The university police will follow initial call list above. Specific procedures for each type of potential incident are detailed in Appendix C

Campus Notification

Fire notification is handled via the fire alarm system in each building. Faculty, staff, students, and visitors will exit the building upon initiation of fire alarms. Department Safety Liaisons will be notified via telephone and email if evacuations are needed for other types of emergency conditions and will assist those in their areas to follow the correct procedure as outlined in Appendix C. Faculty are responsible for ensuring that students in their classroom are given directions on where to go in the event of an emergency.

Drills on the different types of evacuations will be conducted by University Police, Physical Plant, and Environmental Health & Safety during the course of the year.

Media Relations

The Director of News and Information will be made aware of all details, as they become known to the university police. Depending on the severity of the incident, the Director of News and Information, acting under advisement of the university police chief, can determine whether information released to the media should come from the university or outside law enforcement officials (i.e., city police department, Federal Bureau of Investigations, etc.).

ALL media calls or visits must be directed to the Office of News and Information so that the media is receiving one voice/message. No member of the campus community should attempt to respond to the media unless appointed to do so.

XIV. Incidents Involving Third Parties on UT-Tyler Campus

Third parties are defined as anyone who is not current student, faculty or staff of The University of Texas at Tyler. Third-party incidents are injuries, deaths or criminal offenses that occur on the UT Tyler campus involving those defined as third parties.

Initial Procedure

In the event of a crisis incident involving a currently enrolled student, the university police should be notified immediately. The university police will follow initial call list above. Specific procedures for each type of potential incident are detailed in Appendix D

Campus Notification

The Director of News and Information, acting only on the request of the President, may notify members of the campus community (deans, academic council or community as a whole).

Media Relations

The Director of News and Information will be made aware of all details, as they become known to the university police. Depending on the severity of the incident, the Director of News and Information, acting under advisement of the university police chief, can determine whether information released to the media should come from the university or outside law enforcement officials (i.e., city police department, Federal Bureau of Investigations, etc.).

ALL media calls or visits must be directed to the Office of News and Information so that the media is receiving one voice/message. No member of the campus community should attempt to respond to the media unless appointed to do so.

Appendices

A. Student Incident Procedures

B. Faculty-Staff Incident Procedures

C. Natural/Man-Made Incident Procedures

D. Third-Party Incident Procedures