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 Parkland College was one of nine campuses in Illinois that
participated in a 2013 pilot of the Ready to Respond Campus program.
The IEMA initiative is aimed at enhancing campus safety through a
comprehensive, community-based preparedness and response effort,
including public safety, campus administration, faculty and
students.
The voluntary program is now open to all institutions of higher
education in Illinois.
“The Ready to Respond Campus logo tells students, parents and others
that safety is a top priority on this campus,” said IEMA Director
James K. Joseph. “It’s not easy to satisfy the program’s many
criteria. I applaud Parkland College officials for tackling this
challenge and, as a result, becoming only the third campus in
Illinois to achieve this enhanced level of campus safety.”
 Joseph presented the college with a plaque bearing the Ready to
Respond Campus logo. The college can use the logo on official
correspondence, websites, brochures and other media. The designation
is valid for three years, at which time Parkland College officials
can submit updated documentation in order to renew its status.
“Parkland College is honored to receive this designation from the
Illinois Emergency Management Agency,” said Parkland College
President Tom Ramage. “Parkland College is committed to the safety
of our students, faculty, staff and visitors to our campus. The
Ready to Respond Campus designation is an affirmation that we have
the policies, procedures and training in place to respond to any
emergency that may occur.”
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To achieve Ready to Respond Campus
status, a college or university must meet criteria that address
hazard identification, risk assessment and/or consequence analysis,
operational planning, incident management, training and exercise. In
addition, the campus must develop and maintain a violence prevention
plan and implement a campus outreach and education campaign.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Richland Community College
achieved the Ready to Respond Campus designation in 2014. Joseph said several
other campuses currently are working toward the designation.
The Ready to Respond Campus program is the latest component of Illinois’ Ready
to Respond effort. IEMA announced the Ready to Respond Community initiative in
2012. Additional information about the IEMA Ready to Respond program is
available at www.Ready.Illinois.gov.
[Illinois Emergency Management
Agency]
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