Gordon in the News: last updated 08/22/2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2007
MEDIA CONTACT:
Ashley Hopkins
Office of College Communications
978.867.4569
WENHAM, MA-Gordon College announces the purchase of emergency communications software technology Connect-ED® -an emergency notification service that provides college administrators the ability to send and track personalized voice and text messages to Gordon students, faculty and staff in the case of a campus emergency. Connect-ED, a service of The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI) in Sherman, CA, can send the same message to up to six different telephone numbers per person; send text messages, and the service also offers text-to-speech and voice-to-text recognition.
"College campuses are not immune to violent outbreaks, as was demonstrated this past year at Virginia Tech, and the security of our community is a chief concern to the administration of Gordon College," says R. Judson Carlberg, president of Gordon College. "Although our campus continues to standout in the area of student safety, we need to be vigilant and must continue to take every step possible to provide a greater level of security for our campus and Connect-Ed helps us do that."
The Connect-Ed service will be officially launched on the first day of classes, Wednesday, August 29, 2007, at 12:30 p.m. In preparation for the launch, the College is in the process of distributing various advertising materials on the product to the entire Gordon community asking that all students, faculty and staff update their emergency contact information online on the College's intranet site.
"As Executive Vice President for Advancement, Communication and Technology at Gordon and as the father of a current Gordon student, to me the purchase of Connect-ED solves the fundamental problem of reaching our students when an emergency arises and delivering a consistent message," says Dan Tymann. "With Connect-ED, the College will be able to contact students, faculty and staff instantly through multiple communication channels, i.e., cell phones, office phones, home phones and e-mail addresses to provide alerts and even instruction on what to do."
In addition to emergency alerts, Connect-Ed has other communication capabilities that will benefit the College. "Initially the system will only be used for crisis communication," says Chris Jones, director of technology support services at Gordon College. "However, eventually it will also be effective for announcing school closings, parking bans, etc."
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Gordon College is a Christian college of the liberal arts and sciences on Boston's North Shore. The college offers majors in 36 fields and has graduate programs in education and music education. Leading the way in Christian college merit, Gordon is nationally ranked for its excellence in academics and its role in character building. These achievements recognize Gordon as one of the nation's top Christian colleges.
