Emergency Information

Leadership

Office of Emergency Planning & Recovery (OEPR)

This office is responsible for oversight and administration of the emergency management and planning activities including the central and unit emergency plans process and review. The Office Director is responsible for ensuring that emergency plans are reviewed and practiced on an at least an annual basis. This office reports to the VP for Risk Management and Public Safety, and provides coordination and staff support to the CEMC. During and after emergency events, provides coordination and incident management support to the AVP/Director of the Cornell Police and the CEMC, following up with debriefing reports after the incident has been fully resolved.

Cornell Emergency Management Committee

The Cornell Emergency Management Committee (CEMC) is the governing committee responsible for providing oversight, coordination, and leadership for the promotion of activities and services that reduce or eliminate risk to people and property from incidents or events and their effects (mitigation); to adequately prepare the University, through the use of emergency planning efforts and training (preparedness); to ensure that emergencies will be responded to effectively, minimizing the loss of lives and property damage (response); and to ensure that business recovery plans are in place so that recovery efforts can begin immediately after the emergency ensuring return of systems and business activities (recovery).

It is the responsibility of the CEMC to provide central coordination of activities, establish methods for communicating between central and local colleges/units, conduct periodic review of college/unit emergency plans, ensure that appropriate training is provided to campus groups and that annual University-wide emergency training is conducted, conduct periodic assessment of conditions on campus; and plan proactively around preventive and emergency response measures. When necessary, the CEMC will review and recommend changes around emergency operations policies and procedures.

In the event of an emergency, the CEMC may be invoked (wholly or partially) to respond to the event, mobilizing at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The Cornell Police headquarters in Barton Hall has been designated as the primary Emergency Operations Center, with the Palm Road facility of Environmental Health and Safety designated as the secondary location.

The CEMC is co-chaired by the Chief of the Cornell Police and the Director of Emergency Health & Safety.

Incident Executive Leadership Team

The Incident Executive Leadership Team manages incidents once they have escalated to Level 2 emergencies. It is the role of this group to provide leadership and make decisions as appropriate to respond to the emergency situation. This group will make decisions on what and when to communication to the Cornell community. This group will provide direction to the functional incident managers, and counsel and advice to the President in the event that the incident escalates to a Level 3 emergency.

Executive Emergency Management Team

The Executive Emergency Management Team, lead by the President of the University, has ultimate responsibility for establishing the emergency policies for the campus. The team assesses the emergency incident and selects the Team Leader dependent on the nature of the incident.

The team may also declare a campus-wide state of emergency: likewise it would downgrade a state of emergency when conditions have improved. This declaration includes the decision for program closures and resumptions.

Campus Essential Service Units

There are ten campus units that may be required to provide essential services and aid during an emergency. They are:

  • Campus Life,
  • Cornell Information Technologies,
  • Cornell Police,
  • Environmental Health and Safety,
  • Facilities Services,
  • Gannett Health Services,
  • Human Resources,
  • Purchasing,
  • Risk Management, and
  • University Communications.

These units must develop two emergency plans:

  1. A plan that describes the services they will provide for the campus during an emergency, and
  2. A unit emergency plan for their specific organization. The former is incorporated into the University Emergency Plan.

Cornell Incident Management Escalation Procedures

The key to successful response to and recovery from an emergency event is good, solid management leadership during an event. Following is the incident escalation process for the campus:

Level 1 - Immediate Response (all emergencies)... the AVP-Cornell Police (or his designee) is the Cornell Incident Commander

As first responsible university official on the scene, the AVP-Cornell Police (or his designee) is empowered to take all reasonable measures deemed necessary to preserve health & safety including:

  • Deploy appropriate resources to the scene
  • Call in other agencies as needed
  • Apply immediate remedies as necessary
  • Communicate with stakeholders on the scene or potentially at risk
  • Notify Press Relations Office, the SAS Crisis Manager (student) and/or the Human Resources Crisis Manager (staff)
  • Notify key campus officials including senior executives as appropriate
  • When appropriate, confer with the EVP and other core campus executives (VP for RMPS, VP for Student and Academic Services, VP for University Communications)

Note: The Cornell Police will manage the incident until resolved or escalated.

Level 2 - 1st Escalation... managed by the Executive Vice President

If in the judgment of the AVP-Cornell Police or his designee or a more senior official (having been notified) it is deemed necessary to enlist a broader group in managing the incident the following will happen:

  • Convene the Incident Executive Leadership Team... The VP for RMPS will convene the Incident Executive Leadership Team. This group will provide leadership and make decisions as appropriate to respond to the emergency situation. Team membership is as follows:
    • Executive Vice President
    • VP, Student and Academic Services
    • VP, Human Resources
    • VP, Risk Management and Public Safety
    • VP, University Communications
    • Vice Provost, Academic Affairs
    • Associate Vice Provost/Chief, Cornell Police
    • Director, Environmental Health & Safety
    • Executive Director, Health Services

    Other executives will be added as deemed necessary on an incident-by-incident basis.

  • Organize an ad hoc incident support team... As appropriate, the VP for RMPS will assemble a group of functional experts, who using incident management procedures, will assist in managing operations more formally.

Note: The leadership team is empowered to make decisions during a campus emergency. Responsible officials will manage the incident until resolved or escalated.

Level 3 - 2nd Escalation...managed by the President

With advice and counsel from the Incident Executive Leadership Team, the President will:

  • Convene the Executive Emergency Management Team (EEMT)... A core team membership that will include the President's Senior Staff, the Vice President for RMPS, the AVP for RMPS/Cornell Police and anyone else that was involved if the incident escalated up from Level II. Additional members will be added as dictated by the availability and the nature of the emergency at hand. All executive staff will be put on call throughout the emergency.
  • Convene (partially or wholly) the Cornell Emergency Management Committee (CEMC)... The CEMC is comprised of a group of trained functional experts who will, using NIMS-compliant incident management procedures, manage operations during the incident. It will convene at the designated emergency operations center location (Barton or Palm Road).

Note: The EEMT-CEMC will retain leadership of the incident until it is formally disbanded and the emergency is resolved or deescalated.