**December 22, 2005 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project
Activity Report**

\(1\) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ARTICLE:

Glasser, Susan B. and Michael Grunwald. \"Prelude to Disaster: The
Making of DHS - Department\'s Mission Was Undermined From Start.\"

Washington Post, December 22, 2005. Accessed at:

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/21/AR2005122102327.html>

\(2\) DISASTER RESPONSE OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT \-- UPPER DIVISION
COLLEGE COURSE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT \-- DONE!:

December 21-22, 2005 \-- Received from course developer, Dr. David
McEntire, University of North Texas, the final copy of this complete
course, modified based upon review comments \-- which will now be
uploaded to the Project website \-- Free College Courses section \-- and
the earlier pre review comments draft material removed from the Courses
Under Development section. This is the 18th course to be developed for
the FEMA EM HiEd Project. Two others, Coastal Hazards Management and
Floodplain Management, are being revised pursuant to review comments and
should be completed and uploaded in the near future. That will leave but
two courses still being worked on for the EM HiEd Project \-- Terrorism
and Homeland Security, and Hazards Mapping and Modeling \-- both due in
March. This is the 3rd consecutive year that no funding has been
provided to start a new course development project. The course should be
accessible shortly.

\(3\) FEMA AND DHS ARTICLE:

St. Petersburg Times (Editorial). \"Set FEMA Free - The Federal
Emergency Management Agency Could Better Deal With Natural Disasters if
it Was Separated From the Homeland Security Bureaucracy.\" December 22,
2005. Accessed at:

[[http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/22/news_pf/Opinion/Set_FEMA_free.shtml]{.underline}](http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/22/news_pf/Opinion/Set_FEMA_free.shtml)

\(4\) KATRINA-RELATED ARTICLES:

Bowman, Lee. \"Experts Wonder Why Disaster Warnings Don\'t Work.\"

Scripps Howard News Service, December 21, 2005. Accessed at:

<http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=KATRINA-LESSONS-12-21-05>

Walters, Jonathan, and Donald Kettl. \"The Katrina Breakdown -
Coordination and Communication Problems Between Levels of Government
Must Be Addressed Before the Next Disaster Strikes.\" Governing,
December 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://www.governing.com/articles/12disast.htm]{.underline}](http://www.governing.com/articles/12disast.htm)

Waterman, Shaun. \"White House Inquiry Slams Katrina Response.\" United
Press International, December 22, 2005. Accessed at:

<http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20051218-092744-9353r>

\[Note: About a briefing for members of the House Select Committee on
Hurricane Katrina last Thursday (December 15) by Deputy White House
Homeland Security Adviser Ken Rapuano. One quote: \"\'Problems with
training and exercises,\' included that \'Federal, state and local
entities were neither properly trained nor exercised\' owing to a
\'Focus on terrorism rather than all hazards,\'\...\"\]

\(5\) PANDEMIC RELATED ARTICLE:

Rosenthal, Elisabeth. \"Limits Found in Bird Flu Drug\'s Use.\"

International Herald Tribune, December 22, 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/21/news/flu.php]{.underline}](http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/21/news/flu.php)

\(6\) PRACTITIONER\'S CORNER ADDITION:

December 22, 2005 \-- Talked with Eric Holdeman, Director, King County
Office of Emergency Management, about the possibility of adding his
\"Talking Points \-- A Local Perspective \-- Emergency Management and
Homeland Security,\" dated October 4, 2005, to the \"Practitioner\'s
Corner\" section of the website. Eric graciously agreed. Also discussed
possibility of Eric\'s giving a presentation along the lines of his
talking points at the next EM HiEd Conference. The Talking Points should
be accessible shortly.

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)

"Please note: Some of the Web sites linked to in this document are not
federal government Web sites, and may not necessarily operate under the
same laws, regulations, and policies as federal Web sites."