Pomona fixes emergency notification system
Electronic issues prevented Pomona College from sending out a notification to the college community through its EverBridge notification system during the Great Shakeout earthquake drill in October. But the issues have now been resolved, administrators said.
“The Pomona College group within EverBridge was renamed, and the administrative rights needed to send out a message was not transferred to the new name,” assistant vice president of facilities Robert Robinson said in an email to TSL.
Robinson said this error has since been resolved, and the system should now be fully functional.
Pomona tested the system on Thursday, and it appears to have worked.
He added that, even if there had been an emergency while EverBridge issues were occurring, Campus Safety would have been able to message community members instead.
— Marc Rod
Pomona hires new accessibility services director
Pomona College hired Mace Mikaele as its new Director of Accessibility Services, senior associate dean of students Tracy Arwari said in an email to students Tuesday.
Mikaele, who will be starting her job at Pomona on Nov. 15, is currently the AIM/Disability Management Specialist at California State University, Dominguez Hills, Arwari said.
In this role, she developed trainings and workshops and implemented a digital system for accessibility accommodations, as well as assisted students, faculty and staff with accommodations and accessibility needs, according to Arwari.
“Her collaborative approach with academic and student affairs departments, facilities and students and faculty balances the wellness of the individual in their academic, social and professional context on campus,” Arwari said.
Mikaele has a bachelor’s degree from UC Riverside and a master’s in education from the University of Southern California.
Pomona previously faced criticism from students about its handling of accommodations, particularly by Dean of Wellness Jan Collins-Eaglin. Administrators announced Collins-Eaglin would begin a “phased-out” retirement a day after a TSL interview with Collins-Eaglin and Dean of Students Avis Hinkson, in which the two responded to student complaints about Collins-Eaglin.
Collins-Eaglin has been serving as the interim accessibility services director this semester.
— Marc Rod
Marc Rod PO ’20 is from Rye Brook, New York. He previously served as TSL’s managing editor, news editor, news associate and news writer.