Ithaca College is committed to supporting the welfare of its students, faculty, staff, and visitors. Preparing a campus crisis/emergency response plan and allocating resources to respond to possible emergencies is one way in which the College offers this support. The plan is fashioned in accordance with appropriate laws, regulations and policies that govern crisis/emergency preparedness and reflects the best and most current thinking in this area.

The Emergency Response Plan is designed to maximize human survival and preservation of property, minimize danger, restore normal operations of the College, and assure responsive communications with the community, surrounding neighborhoods, the Town of Ithaca, and the City of Ithaca. The plan is set in operation whenever a natural or induced emergency affecting the College reaches proportions that cannot be handled by established measures. A crisis may be sudden and unforeseen, or there may be varying periods of warning. This plan is intended to be sufficiently flexible to accommodate contingencies of all types, magnitudes, and duration.

The plan provides for aiding the local community when appropriate, though the prime responsibility of the plan is to the College community (Ithaca College main campus and branch operations such as the London Center) for which it is designed. The intent is for the plan to be viewed as a tool to accomplish the above stated purpose with a minimum of confusion and wasted effort.