On Friday, Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec sent an open letter to the Texas Tech community apologizing for a false alarm the day before.
“I would like to offer my sincere apologies for the concern, inconvenience and disruption this caused each of you,” Schovanec said.
An alert on the TechAlert system said to evacuate campus. Schovanec said the false alarm was the subject of meeting he called with staff members Friday morning.
Related Story: False alarm: Texas Tech notice to evacuate campus sent by mistake
The following is Schovanec’s letter:
October 5, 2018
Dear Texas Tech Community,
Yesterday afternoon during a routine TechAlert training session, a message to evacuate campus was inadvertently sent to the university community. This was an unfortunate false alarm that was distributed to half of the Texas Tech population, before it was canceled. I would like to offer my sincere apologies for the concern, inconvenience and disruption this caused each of you.
I convened a meeting this morning to review the sequence of events with all related personnel involved in these procedures. We discussed the policies and protocol regarding the training and use of the system to gain an understanding of how this happened. We will continue to thoroughly review and improve training practices to ensure this mistake is never repeated.
The safety and security of the campus and surrounding communities are our top priorities. In addition to enhanced procedures and protocols that we have implemented, we will continue to regularly review all of our safety and security measures.
During this morning’s meeting, we discussed the methods of distribution through the TechAlert system – text message, phone and voicemail, and email. Each of these modes of communication is important, but text message is the most expedient way to receive emergency communications. To ensure your information in the system is accurate, please visit the Emergency Notification Database site. It only takes a few moments and ensures your information is up-to-date.
I appreciate all of those who have reached out and expressed concerns, and I assure you your input is important to our efforts in making our university safe and secure.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Schovanec
President
