News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Tennessee Tech had a successful test in a new alert system thanks to a partnership with Putnam County 911 and Emergency Management Agency.
University Dispatch Operations Supervisor Elizabeth Clemons said the joint effort allows each entity to send out alerts if one group is facing communication issues.
“For example if the county is not able to send a message due to some catastrophic failure on their end, we can send on their behalf and vice-versa,” Clemons said. “So, it is a great way to make sure both the countywide population is served properly as well as our campus.”
Clemons said the need became apparent after the March tornado in 2020. Clemons said several cell towers being damaged led to transmission issues for the university as well as the county.
“This is something that we talked about a year ago, and we had to wait for the university’s existing contract with Rave, which provides text-based messaging protocol, to elapse,” Clemons said. “Then we investigated the joint agreement as soon as we were able to do that contractually.”
The partnership continues a text system, a campus PA system, social media alerts and network notifications for weather events as well as threats. The university had the majority of these services already implemented through its previous contract.
“EMA Director Brandon Smith worked tirelessly with our Rave support folks to transition our existing users to our countywide contract,” Clemons said. “All of the students registered for the current semester are automatically registered for alerts. Our faculty and staff have the option to opt into the system through an additional sign-up process.”
Clemons said more than 100 new subscribers have already registered for alerts. You can opt-in to receive emergency alerts at https://www.tntech.edu/safety/ttualert.php.
