Dear Campus Community:
I am pleased to report that all of our buildings are open, and the issue has been resolved.
I appreciate everyone’s patience during this incident.
First, I want to thank our public safety officers and emergency management staff for acting quickly and clearing the designated areas in order to ensure that our students, faculty and staff were out of harm’s way. They also worked closely and effectively with the local police and others in resolving the issue.
However, today was not without concern. Our emergency notification system – Cougar Alert – proved less than effective in a real-time situation. In the aftermath of today’s events, we have learned that there was a glitch in the system, programmed years ago – which resulted in our communication protocols being compromised, and the initial “bomb found” message was sent out electronically in error. Also, the mechanisms for communicating quickly through the Cougar Alert system – by phone, text and email – did not reach all constituents. Plain and simple, that is unacceptable, and I will work with our emergency management taskforce to address it immediately.
Our first and foremost priority at this institution is for our students’ and College community’s safety. While we may hope something like today is never repeated, we must be better prepared in dealing with it. And I assure you that we will.
Sincerely,
Glenn F. McConnell ’69
President
College of Charleston
66 George Street
Charleston, SC 29424
843-953-5500