FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 15, 2009

MUW includes public in DRU process

COLUMBUS, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women will hold public meetings as it nears the completion of its Disaster Resistant University (DRU) process.

The come-and-go meetings are scheduled for Sept. 22 & 23 in Welty Board Room and for Oct. 6 & 7 in Cochran Hall Ballroom. The time for all meetings is from 4 to 6 p.m. These meetings will allow the community a chance to offer feedback on the university’s DRU plan, which can be found at http://muw.edu/vpfa/dru.html.

“These public meetings are informal but they allow those interested in the process a chance to ask questions and allow for feedback as well,” said Angela Jones, project coordinator.

The DRU planning team, composed of a cross-section of university staff, representatives from city government, community organizations, Columbus Air Force Base (CAFB), IHL, MEMA and Affiliated FM, commercial property insurance specialists, has identified potential hazards (natural and man-made), critical assets and resources that will minimize vulnerabilities to the university while estimating monetary losses that could incur due to these hazards. More recently the team has ranked mitigation actions and prioritized the implementation of these actions.

In 2002, the United States Department of Homeland Security initiated the program. Administered by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), the DRU Program assists universities and colleges to implement a sustained pre-disaster hazard mitigation program to reduce the overall risk to students, faculty, staff, facilities, surrounding community and research assets. The ultimate goal is simply a safer university.

Once the plan is complete, it will be forwarded to MEMA and FEMA for review. Upon a positive review by these agencies, MUW will qualify for pre-disaster financial assistance to help initiate the mitigation actions outlined in the plan. The final phase of the plan includes implementation, adoption, monitoring and revising.