Memo from Dr. Joseph G. Burke, President
05/01/2009
Memo To: Faculty, Staff, Students
Date: May 1, 2009
From: Dr. Joseph G. Burke, President
Re: Swine Flu
Despite confirmed cases of swine flu in some parts of the country, we believe Keuka College students can safely attend classes and employees can safely work. The College and its ASAP locations will remain open at this time.
We have taken several steps to keep you informed about this disease and developed a plan in the unlikely event the Keuka Park campus or ASAP site is forced to close due to students and employees contracting the disease.
The purpose of this memo is to:
- summarize actions taken by the College to date,
- present our institutional-wide communication plan, and
- outline the actions the College will take in the event of a swine flu outbreak on the Keuka Park campus or ASAP site.
A. Summary of Actions Taken to Date
One Monday, April 27, I asked Vice President for Student Affairs Jim Blackburn and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs to send out a campus-wide e-mail about the swine flu and what could be done to prevent infection. Subsequently, the Office of Communications, in cooperation with Health and Counseling Services, prepared information that was published on the Keuka Web site.
On Tuesday, Ginny Coombs met with the division chairs to plan what we might do if classes had to be cancelled. On Thursday, she sent a note to faculty members alerting them to be on the look-out for ill students. Also on Thursday, COO/Executive Vice President Carolanne Marquis met with Dean of Admissions and Marketing Fred Hoyle, Executive Director of Communications Doug Lippincott, Vice President for the Center for Professional Studies Gary Smith, ASAP Marketing Manager Stephanie Miller, and Director of Health Services Martha Rich to formulate an institutional communications plan and develop procedures that College will take in the event of a swine flu outbreak on campus or ASAP site.
B. Institutional Communication Plan
Web site
The primary communication vehicle is the College Web site (www.keuka.edu). The Swine Flu Information Resource page will feature:
- Status of conditions on the Keuka Park campus (currently open).
- Status of conditions at ASAP sites (currently open).
- Local and regional news updates relating to swine flu.
- Information from health services, including prevention tips, symptoms to watch for, etc.
- Links to other sites, such as the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control.
Responsibilities:
- Information coordination: Carolanne Marquis.
- Information providers: Ginny Coombs, Jim Blackburn, Martha Rich, Gary Smith and Kevin Tierney
- Writing/editing: Doug Lippincott.
- Posting: Fred Hoyle.
Hot Line
The College established a swine flu hotline (315-279-5000 ext. 3), which will be posted on the Keuka College Web site. Similar to the College’s weather hotline, it will provide information on class cancellations and/or campus closures at Keuka Park and ASAP sites.
E-mail
Swine flu-related information will also be distributed as needed to students and employees in Keuka Park via the campus mail system and to ASAP students and faculty via the Exact Target system.
C. In the Event of a Swine Flu Outbreak on Campus or ASAP Site
In the unlikely event of an outbreak forcing closure of the Keuka Park and/or ASAP campus, Carolanne Marquis will be responsible for the collection and dissemination of information through contacts with student affairs (Jim Blackburn), health services (Martha Rich), academic affairs (Ginny Coombs), ASAP (Gary Smith), Web site (Fred Hoyle), and communications (Doug Lippincott) and protective services (Kevin Tierney).
In the event a student contracts symptoms (as diagnosed by Health Services) or is diagnosed with the swine flu, he or she will be moved to a designated location on campus.
If the Keuka Park campus closes, access to the College network has been provided to selected individuals in order to post information on the Web site.
Gary Smith and his staff are preparing alternatives for how students might continue their studies outside the classroom if an ASAP site is closed.
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