Emergency contact info should be updated

Emergency contact info should be updated

BY B.J. ALMOND
Rice News Staff   
 
The tragic shootings at Northern Illinois University last week were a stark reminder of the critical need to communicate urgent information to all students, faculty and staff during a crisis. 

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“Rice has an emergency contact system in place, and we have used it several times over the past year to get critical information to the Rice community quickly and through multiple venues,” said Kevin Kirby, vice president for administration and chair of the Crisis Management Team. “But we need everyone’s help with keeping their contact information up-to-date.” 

A campuswide e-mail was sent Monday asking students, faculty and staff to update their personal emergency contact information in their Esther account. The Crisis Management Team uses that information to communicate by cell phone, home and office phones, text messages and e-mail in the event of an emergency.

To update their information, users should log in to their personal account at https://webapps2.rice.edu/selfserve/twbkwbis.P_WWWLogin and click on the link to the Rice University Emergency Notification System at the top of the main menu. Anyone who doesn’t know their PIN for their Esther account can use the “Forgot PIN” feature or send an e-mail to people@rice.edu (if they are an employee) or to registrar@rice.edu (if they are a student). All personal contact information will be kept confidential.

Faculty and staff with questions about how to fill out the emergency notification form can contact Human Resources at 713-348-2514. Students can contact the Office of the Registrar at 713-348-4999. Those who do not want to be contacted during an emergency can check the “opt out” box at the bottom of the form, but this may prevent them from getting critical notices, including campus closings, intended to protect their safety.

Because text messaging is fast and efficient, the Crisis Management Team encourages everyone to enable the text-messaging function on their cell phone for emergency purposes. Text messages won’t provide details, but they will provide alerts and direct recipients to www.rice.edu or a phone number where more information is available. Depending on the phone plan, students, faculty and staff might be charged a small fee when Rice sends a short text message.

“By updating your emergency contact info, you can help us keep you safe,” Kirby said.