Department or Division Point of Contact Role:
The Department or Division Point of Contact is typically the link between the family and the campus community. They help facilitate a timely and compassionate response and may assign others to help with some of the tasks.
This Campus Death Response webpage contains information and resources to assist departments with their response.
It is important to confirm that the death has occurred. The Department or Division Point of Contact should document the source of the information and verify that the source is authentic. This typically comes from credible first-hand reporting by a family member or coworker, however, in a small percentage of cases, this may involve getting confirmation from the Alameda County Coroner's Office(link is external) or UC Police(link is external)
Once the confirmation of the death has been made, the Department or Division Point of Contact must complete the death report(link is external) within 24 hours. Once this report is submitted, the information will be automatically routed to the necessary University offices for related processing and follow up.
The Department or Division Point of Contact then needs to identify a family member who can represent the family's wishes and coordinate with the university regarding possible communication, benefits, logistics, services, etc.