Emergency management, public safety positions filled by IU employees

The newly created positions of emergency management director and public safety director for IU have now been filled by two University employees, Diane Mack and Jerry Minger.

John Applegate, vice president for university regional affairs, planning and policy, announced the appointments of Mack as the first director for emergency management and continuity and Minger as the public safety director on Monday.

“These new positions are key elements in our commitment to ensuring safe campus environments, effective emergency planning and capacity for speedy, professional first-response to any situation,” Applegate said in an IU press release. “We were fortunate to find two very experienced and highly skilled professionals to fill these positions.”

The new director positions were created in response to a 2009 directive by IU President Michael McRobbie which looked to strengthen the University’s public safety and emergency management capabilities.

Mack, who assumed her duties on May 4, and Minger will report to Mark Bruhn, associate vice president for public safety and institutional assurance.

“While IU’s capacity and capabilities in public safety and emergency response have always been very good, they need to be consistently outstanding on all campuses,” Bruhn said in the release. “These two individuals bring extensive expertise and experience to these positions and will provide the leadership we need to achieve our long-term strategy.”

As emergency management director, Mack is responsible for making sure that each of the eight IU campuses has adequate emergency response plans as well as that each IU department has plans to ensure that in the case of an emergency, such as a building fire or tornado damage, critical functions can be recovered quickly.

A long-time police administrator at IU, Minger will assume his duties on July 1. According to the release, Minger “will be responsible for coordinating police operations on all IU campuses,” with the primary goal of optimizing “safety on all IU campuses by ensuring consistent and effective practices and policies in areas such as crowd control, suspect pursuit, uniforms, vehicles and equipment.”

— Bailey Loosemore