In addition to communication with students, planners say coordination amongst all University bodies is key.

The University’s fractured administrative structure—with every school operating as its own fiefdom—provides a significant obstacle for the creation of a centralized emergency plan, planners say.

“The challenge is in the ability to communicate efficiently and rapidly,” Vautin says, noting that all the schools are equipped with their own emergency response systems for small-scale incidents and that communication between the schools only occurs during a more serious emergency.

But Vautin says that there are advantages to decentralization—if a plan takes it into account.

“One strength is the enormous collection of resources across the institution,” he says.

If these widespread local resources are coordinated properly in the aggregate, he says, then the University will continue to operate effectively in an emergency.

Vautin cites the House system as an example.

The ability of a House to respond to an incident is greater than that of the central administration, he says, because it can distribute information rapidly to its members due to its small size and localized nature.

Vautin says the impact of communication from the Central Administration in general is minimal.

“No one moves if the top says so,” Vautin says.

But a major incident like a utility failure or hurricane which affects the entire University, Vautin says, would necessitate “a need for greater support and also centralized guidance and coordination.”

He also says there is a public relations concern associated with emergency planning. For this reason, he says, it is essential for Harvard to present a unified message should a major emergency arise.

“The outside looks at Harvard as one. It doesn’t care about decentralization,” Vautin says. “When we don’t manage as one, it’s frustrating for [those] agencies.”

Staying Connected

Although the CMP cites HUPD as the first source of information during an emergency, the Harvard News Office has affirmed its status as the primary distributor of information on Harvard’s response to a crisis.