University President John J. DeGioia named Don Jones to the newly created position of Special Assistant to the President for Emergency Preparedness at Georgetown on Dec. 12. The position’s responsibilities are to, “assess, design, implement and manage the university’s emergency preparedness efforts,” according to a press release.

Jones will work full time through June, at which point the necessity of a full time position will be assessed. Both DeGioia and Senior Vice President Spiros Dimolitsas will work closely with Jones throughout the spring semester.

DeGioia has asked Jones to assess the various possible threats to Georgetown, from earthquakes and tornadoes to hazardous material spills and fires and to develop plans to deal with each of these emergencies if they were to occur.

DeGioia stated in the press release that he created the position because “the events of the fall have shown that our community can respond effectively to very demanding challenges … we must push ourselves for a greater level of preparedness than any of us could have imagined.” Jones has extensive experience in various types of emergency preparation and relief.

Most recently Jones worked for the American Red Cross as senior vice president for chapter services. His duties included supervising the national Disaster Service revitalization plan (to change the American Red Cross’ capability to respond to national disasters), and orchestrating the relationship between the Federal Emergency Management Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and the Red Cross. He was also in charge of service delivery by 1,300 Red Cross Chapters.

Jones also served in the U.S. Army for 35 years until his retirement in 1991. During operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Jones served in high-level positions such as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Manpower and Personnel (under then Secretary of Defense and current Vice President Dick Cheney), Commanding General of the Army Personnel Agency, and Assistant Division Commander at Fort Hood, Texas.

During the fall semester, university officials communicated with security specialists from outside the Georgetown community to improve the university’s ability to anticipate and respond to emergency situations. DeGioia also met regularly with a group of staff, students and faculty to discuss and address community needs.

DeGioia said he “felt it was important for a single individual to coordinate and build upon the many emergency preparation functions developed by various units of the university.” He also asked the members of the Georgetown community to take seriously the issue of emergency preparedness and to cooperate fully with Jones.

“I’m in the information gathering mode,” Jones said. He also emphasized that he is very pleased with what he has found at Georgetown in terms of emergency preparation so far, but that, “it all just needs to be brought together into a final product.”

Jones a Master’s Degree from Central Michigan University in business management and a bachelor’s degree from St. Benedict’s College.

Each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Jones meets with the leaders of thirteen teams composed of university staff and faculty comprising all of the different aspects of the Georgetown community, from maintenance to communications to academics. The group discusses options for dealing with different threats and makes recommendations as to which procedures the university should adopt.

Deciding what the lines of authority would be in any situation – who to call and who should be in charge – is an important part of these plans. After certain procedures for dealing with emergencies are adopted, training and public diffusion of accepted emergency procedures will occur.

Despite all of the careful planning, however, “having a plan with flexibility is probably the key to success,” according to Jones. Jones also said that, “the biggest challenge, I think, is getting the word out,” to all of the Georgetown students and faculty in an emergency situation, telling them what was happening and what they should do.

Jones spoke about plans already conceived and being worked on dealing with various emergency situations. He said that the university already has a plan to provide students with alternate sources of food if an emergency regarding Marriott’s food services occurs.

He also spoke about finding companies to provide items such as cots, which the university would need if, for instance, a dorm ever burned down, and forming agreements with these companies ahead of time, so that if a disaster occurs a phone call would be all that was needed to receive supplies quickly.

Another topic being assessed deals with students studying abroad, and what the university can do to protect and facilitate communication with them and their relatives in an emergency situation, such as a coup. Jones says plans include having someone designated as a point of contact between the university and students for every country in which students are studying. He also spoke about the need to have a plan for possible hostage situations, which could occur due to the many high profile speakers that come to Georgetown.

Jones has been meeting with emergency relief services in Washington, D.C., and hopes to eventually coordinate so well with them that those responding to a situation from the university community as well as those from the city would know who was in charge of the effort on each side and what the chain of command and procedures were. He believes that it is better to know the faces of emergency response leaders before a disaster happens, rather than to meet while, or after, it occurs.

Although, as he put it, “I’ve retired twice,” Jones said, “I’m very excited about being here.” Jones also said he is very impressed with how committed DeGioia is to prevention, safety and effective responses to emergency situations.

DeGioia, announcing Jones’ appointment, said, “While we hope that emergency situations will not occur at Georgetown, and we have no reason to believe that Georgetown is a specific target, we must all remain vigilant in ensuring the safety and security of our community.”