Hammond, LA — Louisiana Campus Compact will implement the Ready Campus program statewide for 2007-2008. Ready Campus is a partnership that began among Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities and their neighboring communities and is designed to strengthen preparation for and response to emergencies. The Ready Campus model was developed at College Misericordia in Dallas, PA.

Staff from the Louisiana Board of Regents, the state’s delegated governing board for higher education, asked staff of the Louisiana Campus Compact to develop a statewide Ready Campus implementation plan in response to the need to have a campus wide approach to prepare for and respond to emergencies and disasters.

“The Ready Campus model takes into account that campuses must provide safe and secure learning environments and must also do all that is possible to shield students, faculty, and staff from the affects of natural and manmade disasters and emergencies,” said Stephen T. Hulbert, Ph.D., President of Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, LA, and Chair of the Louisiana Campus Compact Executive Committee.

“Catastrophic events from hurricanes like Katrina and Rita, to campus shootings such as those at Virginia Tech, to bomb threats, and even inclement weather demonstrate the need for a well-prepared campus community. This is the goal of the Ready Campus initiative,” added Hulbert.

Louisiana Campus Compact has made application to the Louisiana Serve Commission to utilize 15 minimum time AmeriCorp members for the implementation of the Ready Campus model. Under the proposal submitted to the Louisiana Serve Commission, Louisiana Campus Compact plans to develop a statewide DisasterCorps program.

“The application that we have under review with the Louisiana Serve Commission to host AmeriCorp members provides a unique opportunity to integrate service and disaster and emergency preparation,” said Stuart Stewart, Ph.D., Executive Director for Louisiana Campus Compact. “Through Ready Campus it is our goal to create a ‘culture of preparedness’ among campuses where students, faculty and staff are equipped with the skills to respond in time so of emergency or disaster,” added Stewart.

Each of the 70 postsecondary education institutions under the Louisiana Board of Regents, as well as private institutions that wish to participate, will identify a Ready Campus Leadership Team for their campus. At a minimum teams will be include a campus police/security officer, student affairs professional (ideally a mental health professional), faculty member, senior-level administrator, and student representative.

Each member of the Ready Campus Leadership Team will be responsible for completing training as scheduled by Louisiana Campus Compact and for disseminating information to the campus. For 2007-2008, campus teams will participate in Community Emergency Responder Team (CERT), CPR, AED, and Incident Command System training.

In addition to the training offered to campus teams, faculty will be allowed to apply for Ready Campus course integration grants. These grants will be used to integrate disaster and emergency preparation into courses. The competition for the grants will begin in fall 2007 and will be open to faculty at Louisiana Campus Compact member institutions.

For more information about the Ready Campus program being implemented by Louisiana Campus Compact, please contact the Louisiana Campus Compact Office at 985-549-2496.