Crisis Action Team holds preparedness exercise
Todd DeMuth, exercise bureau director with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, facilitated a tabletop exercise last Friday [Sept. 25] for MSU’s Crisis Action Team. PHOTO: Beth Wynn | Public Affairs
Mississippi State’s Crisis Action Team held a tabletop exercise during its regular meeting last week to drill the emergency response skills of top administrators and key decision makers during a practice hypothetical scenario and training session.
The university’s Crisis Action Team meets regularly to ensure that members are prepared to respond to a variety of potential threats to the campus community. The most common type of threats include inclement weather incidents, but the team trains for a wide variety of other potential emergency situations.
“Without question, this type of complex, regular training and drills sharpen our university’s ability to respond decisively in times of threat or crisis,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. “We’re committed to exploring ways that we can make our campus even safer. I appreciate the leadership of our Crisis Action Team as this process continues to grow and evolve.”
MSU Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Hyatt said tabletop exercises and drills allow an opportunity to ensure the team’s processes and policies are working as they are intended to work. She noted that it is important for team members to spend time working with one another, learning strengths and opportunities, so they can operate well as a team in times of crisis.
“The adage ‘practice makes perfect’ is certainly applicable to our work as a Crisis Action Team. We hope to never have to use these procedures, yet we need to ensure that in times of real crisis they can be deployed effectively,” Hyatt said.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
Allison Matthews | Public Affairs
