Our location in a major U.S. city means Drexel must strive to be prepared for a range of emergency situations in order to protect our students, faculty and staff. To ensure the safety of our community, representatives from across the University have collaborated on a variety of measures, including developing a preparedness plan. Drexel administrators also work with the University of Pennsylvania, the University City Service District, the City of Philadelphia and other state and local emergency agencies to coordinate response plans, and serve on various local, state and national emergency planning committees. Members of the University’s Department of Public Safety patrol our campuses on foot, by bike and in cars and are in contact with the Philadelphia Police Department. Emergency call boxes are located throughout the campuses so that our security personnel can be reached as soon as possible.

In the event of an emergency, Drexel is ready for a coordinated and orderly response because of the plan devised by key departments, including Health and Safety, Public Safety, Facilities Management, Residential Living and our libraries. This plan includes how to evacuate or where to take shelter in our residence halls and buildings if necessary. It also cites measures the University has taken to secure our facilities in an emergency, such as reprogramming energy management software to automatically shutdown HVAC equipment, providing two-way radios for residence halls, stocking emergency supplies and securing all mechanical and electrical rooms and roof access points.

To inform our students, faculty and staff of our emergency plan, the University has launched an awareness program. The Department of Public Safety is offering a seminar for the entire Drexel community. Additionally, Drexel’s preparedness information is available on the Residential Living, Public Safety and Health and Safety Web pages. The University is also creating a Web site that includes our emergency plan, important contacts and links to such sites as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Pennsylvania’s Emergency Management Agency and the City of Philadelphia.

For our plan to be effective, we need the assistance of our students, faculty and staff. One of the most important ways our community can help during an emergency is to report suspicious activities by calling the University’s Dispatch Center at 215-895-2822 (on campus) or 911 (off campus). Students, faculty and staff should also carry their University identification cards at all times and review the University’s emergency plan posted on our Web site.

Drexel’s preparedness plan is constantly reviewed to ensure that it provides the best possible protection for our students, faculty and staff. We hope that we do not need to use this plan, but we are ready to respond if a situation should arise.

C.R. "Chuck" Pennoni Interim President