Whether it is struck by a tornado, deluged by a flood, attacked by a gunman or scorched by a fire, Northeastern Illinois University is prepared, President Sharon Hahs said in her annual State of the University Address, Feb. 21.
“The emergency management team meets monthly for developing plans, procedures and training,” she said, adding that the team has created a chart detailing how to handle various emergencies.
“It is mounted in every classroom and it is available in every administrative office,” said Hahs. “It will be available on the web.”
The chart is divided into multiple sections such as Flooding and Water Damage, Utility Failure, Tornado/Severe Weather, Medical Emergencies, Explosions, Fire Response, Building Evacuation Procedures, Chemical Spill/ Hazardous Materials Incident, Earthquake, Bomb Threats or Suspicious Objects, Crime Prevention, Safety/Escort Service, Workplace Violence and Psychological Crisis/ Suicide Threat.
Hahs also showed charts that explained falling admission trends for NEIU. All of the charts shown during the State of the University Address can be seen at http://www.neiu.edu/~isp/State_of_the_University_Address.pdf.
Other university officials have also expressed concern about declining enrollment. According to the Feb. 5 issue of the Independent, Vice President of Finance and Administration Mark Wilcockson said, “We just need to understand there’s a decrease in enrollment, but in the long-term we’re still doing well.” In the Feb. 7 Board of Trustees meeting, Hahs stated that the university expects higher numbers for next year.
“It’s just been over a year since I came to NEIU, and for me personally, it’s been an extraordinary first year,” said Hahs.
Hahs also addressed upcoming negotiations between the teacher’s union, the University Professionals of Illinois (UPI), and the administration. The hope is to begin negotiations mid-spring.
When negotiations took place four years ago, the impasse resulted in a teachers’ strike. The contract that was hammered out expires this year.
The president praised the overhaul of the university’s information systems that began in 2002. “Next month, for the first time, our students will be able to register online for the summer semester using web-based student registration. Students will also be able to pay tuition and fees online, and access their individual billing information online,” Hahs said. Online registration began on March 3.
She said that NEIU had also embarked on a study of similar univeristies as a way of “thinking of who we are, as compared to others who we think are like us.”
The 11 peer institutions chosen were California State University-Stanislaus; Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi; California State University-Dominguez Hills; The University of Texas-Pan American; New Jersey City University; CUNY Lehman College-N.Y.; Auburn University-Montgomery; Indiana University-Northwest; Purdue University-Calumet, Ind.; The University of Texas at Brownsville and Chicago State University.