Dept of Biology Emergency Plan

Biology H1N1 Flu Emergency Plan
October 16, 2009

How can the Department operate when key administrators and support staff may be "out?"  List who would serve as “back up” to the department chair or program director in the event you are ill.  If that person is ill, who would be “third in line?”

Dr Joe Steffen will serve as backup in case Dr. Fell is out.  In the event that Dr Steffen is also out, Dr. Perri Eason will be next in line.

How can we maintain efficient communications with one another when some or all of us are "off-campus?"

Dr. Fell – Office 852-6771
Dr. Steffen – Office 852-7209
Dr. Eason – Office 852-5936
Home and cell phone numbers for these individuals have been provided to the A&S Dean’s Office.

How would your department/unit function if the chair/director, UBM or other key persons were out?

If the department chair is “home with the flu”, he will be contacted by office staff and kept informed and retain his responsibilities.  The next in line would have signatory authority.  If the chair is incapacitated, decision authority will pass to the next in line.

If the UBM, Ms. Doris Meadows, is “home with the flu”, Margie Folden would be next in line, if Margie Folden is out, Sheryl Meier would be next in line.

Doris Meadows – Office 852-6771
Margie Folden – Office 852-6771
Sheryl Meier – Office 852-6771
Home and cell phone numbers for these individuals have been provided to the A&S Dean’s Office.

How would you handle classes when the instructor may be "out" for an extended period?

Any faculty member who cannot meet a class as scheduled has to report this to the Unit Business Manager, Doris Meadows, who will in turn notify the Chair.  In most cases a back up faculty member will be identified by the Chair and class will meet as usual.  In the event a back up faculty member cannot be found, a GTA associated with the class will take over that particular class period.  In the event neither back up faculty or a GTA cannot cover a class session the students will be met in the class and the class dismissed for that period.  If possible students will be notified by email in advance of the class.  Each faculty member has one other faculty member or GTA as back-up.  GTA’s responsible for individual laboratory sections will notify the faculty member in charge of the course if they cannot meet their lab and the faculty member will arrange for another GTA to cover the affected lab.  In all cases where a faculty member or GTA cannot meet their class, the Department office is to be notified and the Chair will be contacted to ensure continuity of course delivery.

Department website

The person responsible for maintaining the departmental web site is Dr. Jennifer Mansfield-Jones.  If she is “out,” critical information will be posted by the chair, Dr. Fell.