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But even with the best plans, there is room for improvement, and Parks is quick to acknowledge this. He admits the magnitude of the flooding surprised him and other campus officials.
An assessment conducted by MSUM after the crisis identified the following as areas of improvement:
- Specific residential housing evacuation/relocation plan for international and economically stranded students
- A more detailed mitigation plan for a full shutdown and evacuation of the campus
- A more defined chain of command and streamlined reporting process
- Faster control and restriction of published E-mail and Web site information
That said, Parks’ boss is thrilled with his performance under such trying circumstances. “He’s phenomenal!” says Szymanski. “I don’t want anyone recruiting him away. I’ve got to do something about that.”
Parks also sings the praises of his staff. “I think what I’m most proud of is watching my staff and the other employees making those personal sacrifices to help the community and watch them work tirelessly for 10, 12 hours a
day for 10 days to provide service to the community without complaint or hesitation,” he says.
He also gives kudos to the MSUM student volunteers. “Many of them don’t live here other than during the academic year, and really, everyone involved delivered and participated. At MSUM, we’ve been fighting floods for more than 100 years, so this isn’t anything new. Really, the only thing in this uncertain world is the certainty that MSUM will be standing shoulder to shoulder with our community to help save it.”
The Parks File
Name: Michael Parks
Title: Director of Public Safety
Department: Public safety department with 30 non-sworn, unarmed employees. Twenty one are officers.
Campus: Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is located in Moorhead, Minn., which is on the Minnesota/North Dakota border by Fargo, N.D. It has approximately 8,200 students and 600 faculty and staff.
Background: Parks has been with MSUM for four years. Before that, he ran a law enforcement academy for community colleges in Minnesota. Previously, he was a police officer for the Twin Cities Metro Police Department.
