**February 22-25, FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project
Activity Report**

\(1\) AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY DRAFT STATEMENT ON BACHELOR
DEGREES IN ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE:

February 23, 2005 \-- Was told about a 10-page document entitled
\"Bachelor\'s Degree in Atmospheric Science\" located at:
[[http://www.ametsoc.org/policy/draftstatements/index.html]{.underline}](http://www.ametsoc.org/policy/draftstatements/index.html)
\-- which begins by stating that \"The primary purpose of this statement
is to provide guidance to university faculty and administrators who are
seeking to establish and maintain undergraduate programs in atmospheric
science. This statement describes the minimum curricular composition,
faculty size, and facility requirements recommended by the American
Meteorological Society for an undergraduate degree program in
atmospheric science\....Although the focus of this statement is
deliberately on curricular composition and course offerings, it must be
recognized that the content, format, and methods used for teaching those
courses are important factors in student outcomes and their preparedness
for future careers. For example, COURSES WITH MORE HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES
CAN HAVE A GREATER IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING THAN LARGE LECTURE
COURSES\" \[emphasis mine\].

In that there are close to 100 new emergency management programs being
investigated, proposed or developed on college campuses \-- about one
third at the Bachelor level \-- and in that the \"guidance\" in this
draft document transcends the boundaries of atmospheric science, I
recommend that not only those who are investigating, proposing, or
developing a new program, but those who need to maintain an existing
\"emergency management\" program, or those interested in accreditation
of existing \"emergency management\" college programs review this
document.

\(2\) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING \-- AND A \"WAR STORY\":

February 23, 2005 \-- Government Executive Magazine published today an
article entitled \"Critical Infrastructure Plan Nears Completion.\"
According to the article:

\"The Homeland Security Department is nearing completion of a national
infrastructure protection plan\...A draft of the plan has been vetted
ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT \[emphasis mine\] and will be shared with
state and local governments and industry in the \'next several weeks\'
said Pete Fonash of the interagency National Communications System a
component of DHS\'s Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection
Directorate\]\....Fonash said it is critical for industry and state and
local governments to provide input into the plan.\"

The article goes on to note worsening problems in the area of
information sharing and communication between industry and the
Department of Homeland Security.

This comes one day after a conversation I had with a Homeland Security
Planner within a county Emergency Management Office who contacted me to
comment on my Activity Report item two weeks ago on Donald Kettl\'s book
\"System Under Stress \-- Homeland Security and American Politics.\" I
noted that Kettl highlighted the point that: \"Homeland security, at its
core, is about coordination. It is not only about developing new tools
but \-- more importantly \-- weaving together far more effectively the
nation\'s experts and resources\" (p. 28). The county Homeland Security
Planner, who strongly agrees and believes in the necessity of good
coordination and communication, told me a story about the failure of
coordination and communication in his county on the subject of critical
infrastructure planning. At the direction of the DHS Information
Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate, his county conducted
a survey/risk assessment of critical infrastructure in the county that
needed protection upgrades \-- came up with a list of about a dozen.
Various localities in the county came up with their own differing
listings. And, the State had another list. Upon hearing that an office
within the DHS Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection
Directorate was working on its own listing of critical infrastructure in
his county, the county HS Planner contacted personnel there and
suggested a meeting or meetings with DHS personnel from this office as
well as from localities within the county \-- to work on and hopefully
work out differences between the various listings. He was turned down
and was told to wait for the DHS list. Sometime later he did receive a
list \-- of three properties in the county \-- one of which was a vacant
lot.

\(3\) DISASTER RESPONSE OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT \-- UPPER DIVISION
COLLEGE COURSE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT:

February 22, 2005 \-- Received for review from lead course developer,
Dr. David McEntire, University of North Texas, Session 37,
\"Communications and Coordination,\" and Session 43, \"Preparing for
Response Operations and Management.\"

February 24, 2005 \-- Received for review from Dr. McEntire, Session 44,
\"Improvisation, Creativity, Flexibility and Successful Responses.\"

\(4\) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CORE COMPETENCIES AND ATTITUDES AT THE
MASTER\'S LEVEL SURVEY:

February 23, 2005 \-- Under the heading of killing two birds with one
stone, received request from Craig Marks to note the website that has
been established to post a survey instrument he has developed seeking
emergency management demographic and attitudinal information,
specifically including questions concerning perceptions of emergency
management competencies needed for students/graduates of Emergency
Management and Related Master\'s Level College Programs. If you are or
have been associated with such a program would you please take a few
minutes to respond to Craig\'s request \-- by going to:
[[http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB22438KRJTYX]{.underline}](http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB22438KRJTYX)

Questions concerning this survey can be addressed to Craig at:
camrmm@direcway.com

\(5\) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HIGHER EDUCATION CONFERENCE, JUNE 7-9,2005,
EMI, EMMITSBURG, MD:

February 22-24, 2005 \-- Communicated with Dr. Kathleen Tierney,
Director of the Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado at
Boulder concerning her participation on the Disaster Research and
Practitioners Plenary Panel during the conference \-- with a
presentation along the lines of her chapter on \"Disaster Beliefs and
Institutional Interests: Recycling Disaster Myths in the Aftermath of
9-11,\" in Lee Clarke\'s edited book \"Terrorism and Disaster: New
Threats, New Ideas\" (Boston, etc.: Elsevier: 2003), and about her
recent paper \"Recent Developments in U.S. Homeland Security Policies
and Their Implications for the Management of Extreme Events.\"

February 23-24, 2005 \-- Communicated with Dr. Joseph Barbera, MD,
Co-Director, Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management, George
Washington University, on two subjects: (1) his plenary session relating
to his Indian Ocean Disaster Response Mission for the US Agency for
International Development (on a Disaster Assistance Response Team), and
(2) his taking on the defense of the term \"emergency management\"
during the \"What Should We Call What We Do\" Session. On that subject
we still need volunteers for the terms \"hazard management\" (regularly
used in the hazard/disaster research literature), and \"homeland
security.\" If you are an activity report reader, plan on attending the
conference, and teach in or manage a collegiate homeland security
program, should you not consider putting forth this proposition?

February 23-25, 2005 \-- Communicated with Dr. Neil Britton, Jim Buika
and Leanna Falkiner on seeking to design and develop an International
Disaster Management session, at the conference.

February 25, 2005 \-- Drafted statement of work from a micro purchase
work order \-- the purpose of which is to attempt to develop an edited
book based on a selection of conference papers and presentations \--
which would each be appropriately expanded upon after the conference for
the purpose of going into the book.

A variety of documents concerning the conference, including an
application form, are now posed on the Project homepage \-- click within
the Conference Box at the top of the homepage.

\(6\) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT JOB MARKET INTERN PROJECT:

February 22, 2005 \-- Monika Buchanan and Kim Huseman, disaster
management students at Millersville University of Pennsylvania (program
directed by Dr. Hank Fischer) and interning this semester with the EM
HiEd Project, report the following statistics pulled from the U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment
Statistics website \--
[[http://www.bls.gov]{.underline}](http://www.bls.gov/) \-- for 2003:

Emergency Management Specialists \-- 10,948 (2002) Projected to 14,040
by 2012

Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics \-- 186,110 (2003)

Fire Fighters \-- 274,590 (2003)

Fire Fighter First-Line Supervisors & Prevention Workers \-- 55,700
(2003)

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists and Technicians \-- 41,000
(2002) \$46,000 median income

Police and Sheriff\'s Patrol Officers \-- 612,420 (2003)

Police, Fire, and Ambulance Dispatchers \-- 90,490 (2003)

The reason the emergency service numbers are being collected is because
we know that practitioners from these services enroll in emergency
management college programs. The next step in this project is for Monika
and Kim to contact a sampling of academics responsible for emergency
management college programs \-- especially distance learning programs
\-- to seek to determine the percentage of students from various
emergency service sectors enrolled in their programs. We will provide
the results of those inquiries on the Project website along with the
data noted above (and other data yet to be collected).

\(7\) HAZARD MAPPING AND MODELING \-- UPPER DIVISION/GRADUATE-LEVEL
COURSE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT:

February 21, 2005 \-- Reviewed Session 3, \"Modeling Dispersion of
Chemical Hazards, Using ALOHA,\" by Dr. Erno Sajo, Department of Physics
and Astronomy, Louisiana State University; provided review comments to
lead course developer, Dr. John Pine, LSU; and forwarded to the EMI
Webmaster for upload to the Project website \-- Free College Courses
section \-- Courses Under Development subsection \-- where it should be
accessible shortly. From session Scope:

\"This session provides an introduction to the nature and extent of the
air dispersion of hazardous chemicals and their impacts. Methods for
modeling air dispersion of chemical hazards will be examined to identify
the information needed to generate an estimation of wind damage and
loss. The session will examine the ALOHA software and how it can be used
to characterize the impacts from the air dispersion of chemical
hazards.\"

\(8\) IAEM BULLETIN, VOL. 22, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2005:

February 23, 2005 \-- Received this months Bulletin from the
International Association of Emergency Managers. Includes several
articles on the Indian Ocean tsunami, including one by ex-FEMA Associate
Director, Kay C. Goss; a \"From the President\" column by IAEM President
Dewayne West on \"Certification and Accreditation;\" and an \"Eye on
Education\" column by Craig Marks entitled \"How Do I Pick a School?
(Part I).\" To receive the \"IAEM Bulletin\" one needs to join the IAEM
\-- by going to:
[[http://www.iaem.com]{.underline}](http://www.iaem.com/)

\(9\) INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY:

February 25, 2005 \-- Received from Amy Lindsey, Indiana Office of
Emergency Management, following note on the availability of an
internship opportunity:

\"Seeking part-time Intern to provide support the Department of
Emergency Preparedness in Arlington, Texas. Responsibilities may include
creating and maintaining project databases and spreadsheets; providing
technical assistance for outside agencies; maintaining, creating and
distributing various reports; and consulting with departmental staff,
regional stakeholders and jurisdictional representatives concerning
issues within the realm of Emergency Management.

Work requires knowledge of a specific vocational, administrative, or
technical nature that may be obtained with six-months/one year of
advanced study or training past the high school equivalency. Should have
knowledge of and be able to operate Windows-based computer programs such
as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, Publisher, and Access &
Internet.

Starting salary is \$11.20 per hour. Send resume to the Department of
Emergency Preparedness, NCTCOG, P.O. Box 5888, Arlington, TX 76005-5888,
fax: (817) 640-6480, or e-mail to resumes@nctcog.org NCTCOG is an Equal
Opportunity Employer.

[[http://www.nctcog.org/aa/jobs/InternAdEP022005.htm]{.underline}](http://www.nctcog.org/aa/jobs/InternAdEP022005.htm)

\(9\) KANKAKEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, IL \-- PROPOSED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
SPECIALIST ASSOCIATE DEGREE & CERTIFICATE:

February 22, 2005 \-- Received news from Mike Casagrande, Homeland
Security Coordinator at Kankakee Community College that the Illinois
Community College Board has given tentative approval to the proposal to
develop an Emergency Management Specialist Associate Degree and
Certificate. Final approval from the ICCB is expected in April. Mr.
Casagrande is optimistic that the new programs can be implemented this
coming Fall, 2005 semester. If approved, an expected, this would
represent the first Emergency Management Associate Degree in Illinois.
For additional information consult the program description in the
\"Programs Being Proposed\" section of the College List on the Project
web-site, or email Mr. Casagrande at mcasagrande@kankaee.edu.

\(10\) ST. PETERSBURG COLLEGE, FL \-- NEW EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TRACK
(MINOR), BAS IN PUBLIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION:

February 22, 2005 \-- Communicated with Roger Melchior, Southeastern
Public Safety Institute, St. Petersburg College, FL, concerning the
beginning this semester of their third emergency management program \--
a specialization/track in Emergency Administration and Management (9
credit hours) within the Bachelor of Applied Science in Public Safety
Administration \-- the other two programs being an Associate Degree in
Emergency Management, as well as a stand-alone Emergency Management
Certificate. Mr. Melchior also noted that St. Petersburg is
investigating the development of a Homeland Security Track or
Certificate. For additional information consult the program description
found within the \"Bachelor Level Emergency Management Concentrations
and Minors\" section of the College List on the Project website, or
email Mr. Melchior at: Melchior.Roger@spcollege.edu

\(11\) TERRORISM-RELATED RESOURCES:

February 23, 2005 \-- Received from a FEMA colleague a URL from a
contact in the Office of Law Enforcement, Transportation Security
Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, containing within
the April 19, 2004 Special Edition of the \"Terrorism Literature
Report,\" a wide range of links to sites providing information on
terrorism, homeland security, weapons of mass destruction, cyber and
information warfare, Islam, and miscellaneous intelligence topics \--
looks fairly comprehensive to me. Go to:
[[http://www.tacia.org/documents/Links/TLR011.html]{.underline}](http://www.tacia.org/documents/Links/TLR011.html)

B.Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM

Higher Education Project Manager

Emergency Management Institute

National Emergency Training Center

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Department of Homeland Security

16825 S. Seton, N-430

Emmitsburg, MD 21727

\(301\) 447-1262, voice

\(301\) 447-1598, fax

wayne.blanchard@dhs.gov

[[http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu]{.underline}](http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu)