Within the weeks following the tragic events of September 11, there was  much discussion about the impact this disaster had on businesses and their ability to recover. Hundreds of companies that were located in the World Trade Center towers were forced to find a new location to carry on their businesses. For the first time in history, Wall Street was closed for three business days. Some of the businesses were fortunate in that they had planned for a resumption of their business in the event of a disaster. Several had learned from their experience eight years earlier when the Trade Center was bombed, that it is important to have a plan in place that provides for the continuation of a business in the event of a disaster.

In August of 2001, Chancellor Woodward approved the formation of a committee to develop a Business Continuity Plan for the University. The purpose of a Business Continuity Plan is to enable the continuation of critical University processes in the event of a disaster. A Business Continuity Plan is a comprehensive plan and addresses the following: What can we do to prevent a disaster? How will we maintain our operations during a disaster? How can we recover, i.e., get the process back to the way it was before the disaster?

Development of this plan requires the participation of all units on campus. A Steering Committee was formed and was co-chaired by Olen Smith, Vice Chancellor, Business Affairs and Karin Steinbrenner, Associate Provost for Information Systems and CIO. A Management Team, with representation by every unit on campus was formed and co-chaired by Pat Barber, Director of Systems Planning, Information Technology Services and Susan Brooks, Associate Vice Chancellor, Financial Services.

In December, 2002, the University hired Morgan Roseborough to be the Director of Business Continuity Planning.  His mission is to take the University's plan from the formative stages, which were put in place by the Steering Committee and the Management Committee, to a completed Business Continuity Plan.  Morgan also assumed the role of Chair of the Management Committee, formerly co-chaired by Pat Barber and Susan Brooks.