CHICAGO—The presidents of the 12 institutions in the South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium (SMHEC), a partnership of colleges and universities in the Chicago Southland, have agreed to provide assistance to one another during a campus crisis.
On July 19, the consortium presidents signed a mutual aid agreement, which is designed to help a member institution maintain operations and business continuity in the aftermath of a crisis. The agreement is believed to be the first of its kind nationally.
“This is a proactive way to network the 12 institutions of SMHEC to provide support to one another in the event of any crisis,” said Michael J. Vinciguerra, Ph.D., president of the University of St. Francis. “This is a comprehensive agreement that goes well beyond backup support for security to include food distribution, data support, counseling and much more.”
As part of the pact, an institution could request facilities, equipment or personnel in a variety of disciplines, including police, human resources and crisis communications.
“While we know of a number of colleges and universities that have mutual aid agreements between their campus public safety department and the local police agency, and several individual campuses with agreements with the local fire department or EMS, we believe this is the first mutual aid agreement amongst a group of both public and private higher education institutions,” said John E. Watson, executive director for higher education practice at Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, who assisted in the agreement.
The SMHEC members are: DeVry University, Governors State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Joliet Junior College, Kankakee Community College, Lewis University, Moraine Valley Community College, Northwestern College, Prairie State College, Saint Xavier University, South Suburban College, and University of St. Francis. The consortium was formed in 1992.
University of South Francis July 21, 2010 press release
