Dept of Psychological and Brain Sciences Emergency Plan

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Flu/Emergency Plan
Fall, 2009
Chair:  Suzanne Meeks, Ph.D.
Dept. Program Coordinator/Admin. Asst:  Leisa Hillman
Unit Business Managers:  Diane Penrod & Carla Gates

Administration
The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences is prepared to continue administrative functions in the absence of the Chair or administrative staff through the following contingencies:

• Chair back-up:  The Department’s Vice Chair, Prof. Ben Mast, regularly assumes the Chair’s duties when the Chair is unavailable.  If neither the Chair nor the Vice Chair were available, then one of the program directors (Prof. Woody Petry, Prof. Janet Woodruff-Borden, Prof. Pavel Zahorik) would cover.  These individuals form the Department Executive Committee and are all aware of essential operation procedures of the Department.

• Department Staffing:  Our department staffing is designed so that there are at least two individuals who are aware of, and can continue, all essential departmental functions.  Thus, with 6 department staff members, it is unlikely that the absence of several staff members would significantly disrupt operations in any given week.  We have two Unit Business Managers, who share data on the University LAN’s i-drive that is accessible to both.  Third in line for coverage would be Leisa Hillman as of the date of this document, although we are also hiring an additional accounting staff member who would serve as back-up for financial issues.  The Chair, Vice Chair, and all staff members know where critical resources are filed or stored.  Similarly, there are currently three staff members and two work study students who can answer the department’s main phone line, and serve the reception area.  In the event that none of these four individuals would be available to open the office and answer the phone lines, the administrator in charge will leave a voicemail message on our department line describing the situation and to referring callers to 852-6490 (main phone number at the front desk of the Dean’s Office) if immediate assistance is needed.
   
• Communication: The Department maintains a BlackBoard organizational site that permits easy email communication with all faculty, staff, and graduate students.  Many critical Department documents and the calendar of events are maintained on that site, including the Department Directory.  At least three members of the Department staff, and all faculty, have access to email/internet at home, so communication via email should not be disrupted in the event that an extended absence by faculty or staff members leads to questions about daily operations that need to be answered.  The Chair uses a Blackberry that receives emails as well as text and voice messages, so generally can be contacted easily in an emergency. 

Notification

• If there were extensive staff or faculty absence in the Department, the administrator on duty would report to the A&S Dean’s office with an email to Dean Hudson, with copies to Anne Domeck and Pam Maze. 

• The Department website committee include Profs. Patrick Shafto  and Paul Salmon, with assistance from Prof. Cara Cashon.  Many other faculty members have the ability to post items to the web site.  In the event of a departmental shut-down or cancellation of classes, a note would be posted on the website by one of these individuals.  Their cell phone numbers are available to all faculty and staff members via our department’s directory.  The department’s directory is available on the department’s BlackBoard site. 
• The Life Sciences Building emergency action plan is also available on our BlackBoard site. 

Instruction
• Each department faculty member who is teaching a course will have on file in the main office a plan for instructional continuity if he or she should have an extended absence from teaching.
• If a faculty member is unable to meet with his or her class, he or she will notify the main department office by telephone or email.  If unable to reach a person in the main office, they should contact the Chair via email or cell phone.  Faculty members should indicate how they will handle their absence.  Each faculty member is responsible for insuring that the information concerning class cancellation, rescheduling, and/or alternative class activities is posted on the BlackBoard site for that course.  Department staff will post signs on the doors of the classroom and notify the Dean jbhuds01@louisville.edu of the cancelled class(es) and copy the e-mail to Assistant Dean for Administration, Anne Domeck a.domeck@louisville.edu and A&S receptionist, Karen Axmaker, keasma01@louisville.edu.
• Should a faculty member note an unusual spike an absences in his or her class, they will notify the Departmental administration, who will then inform the Dean’s office, as above.


Cancellation of events
If the department needs to cancel or reschedule an event that is open to the public or has been announced campus-wide or in the community, the administrative office (Chair or Chair back-up and/or Leisa Hillman or UBM) will determine who needs to be notified, and contact the website coordinator to post the cancellation to the departmental website.  An email to graduate students and faculty can be sent via the department BlackBoard site; if sufficient time is available, the cancellation can be posted on U of L Today (To submit an item for UofL Today, go to http://ulink.louisville.edu
In the main menu, click on Submit Feedback or UofL Today. Then select Submit a UofL Today Item. Read the guidelines, complete the form and click on Submit)..  The administrative office further will notify Dean Hudson by e-mail jbhuds01@louisville.edu  (with copy to Assistant Dean for Administration Anne Domeck a.domeck@louisvill.edu , Public Relations Coordinator Brian Heckel brian.heckel@louisville.edu , Administrative Assistant to the Dean Pam Maze pam@louisville.edu , Receptionist Karen Axmaker keaxma01@louisville.edu ).  If appropriate, the Dean’s Office can post cancellations to the main A&S website and to the A&S monitor system in lobbies of our buildings, and we can send a notice to the A&S faculty and staff list servs.