Dear Lasell Community Members,

Once again a fellow institution of higher education has experienced a tragedy of unfathomable proportions.  On behalf of the Lasell community, I sent the attached letter of condolences to Northern Illinois University to express our solidarity with them during the difficult times they are bound to experience in the weeks and months to come.

Each time one of these events occurs, it naturally causes us to ask about our own level of preparedness.  The Northern Illinois tragedy reminds us that no campus can be completely secure; we must rely on each other for help and solace when we face challenging circumstances.  Since I was appointed President last spring, we have been working to review and revise our Emergency Response and Management Plan.  We approved a thorough, revised Plan just this past October and have trained appropriate members of the administration on the Plan.  Within a few weeks, we will be posting summary notices of the essential elements of our Emergency Response Plan at many places around campus for easy reference by any member of the community.

In addition, we have purchased and prepared a text messaging alert system that will allow us to quickly notify members of our community in case of a man-made or natural emergency.  For this alert system to be effective, each individual must register on the system. I did it myself already; it only takes a minute.  I urge each of you to do so as well.

In the future, we will continue to hold drills and training sessions in order to prepare ourselves as well as possible in the event we must confront an unanticipated emergency or tragedy.  In the meantime, let us give thanks that we live in a community that warm and caring and supportive of its various and diverse members.

Sincerely,

Michael B. Alexander
President