**10-14 Mar 03 Public FEMA EM HiEd Pjt Activity Report**

**(1) Challenges of Disaster Management Education Meeting:**

March 13, 2003 \-- Attended first day of two-day meeting in DC organized
by the Fritz Institute and Georgetown University. The primary purpose of
the Fritz Institute is to mobilize disaster management expertise for
humanitarian and disaster relief missions abroad. Georgetown\'s interest
was on the part of staffers from the Institute for the Study of
International Migration. For further information on the Fritz Institute,
contact Anisya Thomas, Managing Director, at:
Anisys.Thomas2@fritzinstitute.org.

**(2) Emergency Management Higher Education Conference, June 4-5, 2003,
Emmitsburg, MD:**

March 14, 2003 \-- Received printout from Admissions of 18 applications
received and entered into their system. In that 183 invitations were
mailed and that we can only accommodate 100 participants, those who plan
on attending the conference but have not submitted their application
should do so early. An easier to use application than the one mailed has
been posted to the EM HiEd Website.

**(3) Health Care Preparedness:**

March 14, 2003 \-- Learned of just-released report by the Joint
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations \-- *Health Care
at the Crossroads: Strategies for Creating and sustaining Community-Wide
Emergency Preparedness Systems*. From the report:

\"This paper is a call to action\...Eighteen months after the September
11, 2001 attacks and the subsequent, insidious, selected and deliberate
dispersion of anthrax spores, there are clear sighs that the focus of
American attention has long since moved on. The sense or urgency to
prepare has now become a wait-and-see sense\....The concept of
community-wide preparedness systems is now to most health care
organizations\...health care organizations have operated in isolation,
and their disaster plans reflect this mindset.\" In a press release
announcing the availability of this report, the Joint Commission\'s
President, Dennis O\'Leary, stated that \"In most of America\'s
communities there has been no mobilization.\" The report can be
downloaded from:
http://www.jcaho.org/news+room/news+release+archives/emergency+prepdrness.pdf.

**(4) Intern Interest:**

March 10, 2003 \-- Exchanged emails with a student in the Emergency
Planning and Administration Program at the University of North Texas who
is interested in interning here this late Spring. Would, among other
things, help us with the EM HiEd Conference June 4-5.

**(5) Interoperability Issues Report:**

March 10, 2003 \-- Received news of the availability of *Why Can\'t We
Talk? Interoperability: Working Together to Bridge the Communications
Gap to Save Lives \-- A Guide for Public Officials*, by the National
Task Force on Interoperability, February 2003, 104 pages. From the
introduction: \"The inability of our public safety officials to readily
communicate with one another threatens the public\'s safety and often
results in unnecessary loss of lives and property.\" Makes the case that
public officials have the responsibility to fix this long and frequently
recognized problem. Downloadable from:
http://www.agileprogram.org/ntfi/ntfi_guide.pdf

**(6) Middlesex County College, Edison NJ:**

March 14, 2003 \-- Learned from a student taking an Introduction to
Emergency Management course at Middlesex that the school has begun an
investigation into the development of an Associate Degree in Emergency
Management, and an Emergency Management Certificate. Is in the process
of developing two new emergency management courses to be taught this
Fall, to supplement the Intro course which was offered for the first
time this current Winter/Spring semester. Asked for contact information
at the school.

**(7) Mitigation \-- Resources for Success CD ROM:**

March 14, 2003 \-- Received copy of this CD ROM from the Mitigation
Division. It is available free of charge from the FEMA Publications and
Distribution Facility at: 800-480-2520. Ask for FEMA 372 CD ROM.

**(8) Social Dimensions of Disaster Course Modification Project:**

March 11, 2003 \-- Received for review from course developer, Dr. Thomas
Drabek at the University of Denver, Session 15, \"Victim Responses to
Disaster,\" Session 16, \"Non-Victim Responses to Disaster,\" Session
17, \"Understanding Looting Behavior,\" and Session 18, \"Mid-Term
Examination.\"

**(9) Social Vulnerability Approach to Disasters Course Review:**

March 10-14 \-- Continued to receive review comments, which were then
forwarded to the course development team. Also heard from two potential
reviewers that they have not received their course package \-- which
means we will probably not get review comments from these individuals
even if the packages arrive soon \-- in that our review comments meeting
with Dr. Elaine Enarson of Metropolitan State University, Denver, is
scheduled for March 28. I have no idea why U.S. packages have not
arrived \-- have asked the Project Assistant to check into this \--
delivery was supposed to be within 3 days in the US. Can understand why
the overseas packages might not all have arrived (as is the case with
the packages sent to New Zealand and Turkey which have not yet arrived).

**(10) University of North Texas, Denton:**

March 14, 2003 \-- Received request from Dr. David McEntire, head of the
Emergency Administration and Planning Program, Department of Public
Administration, to share information on another new faculty position at
UNT:

> The Department of Public Administration in the School of Community
> Service invites applications for an anticipated tenure-track position
> (pending funding) at the assistant professor level beginning September
> 2003. Primary teaching responsibilities are in the department\'s
> NASPAA-accredited Master of Public Administration Program, with
> occasional teaching of undergraduate courses in public administration
> or in the baccalaureate program in emergency administration and
> planning. Prospective candidates must have a teaching and research
> interest in nonprofit management and at least one of the following
> areas: human
>
> resource management, emergency administration and planning, or
> organizational behavior. Candidates must be able to combine excellent
> teaching with a productive agenda of research and community service.
> Please submit a letter of interest, current vita, teaching interests,
> writing sample, and three letters of reference to:
>
> Search Committee Chair
>
> Department of Public Administration
>
> University of North Texas
>
> P.O. Box 310617
>
> Denton, Tx 76203-0617

**(11) University of Texas at Dallas:**

March 10, 2003 \-- Dorothy Miller, Program Manager, Emergency Management
Certificate Program, emails to note that the first course to be taught
in this new graduate level certificate program \-- Fundamentals of
Emergency Management \-- has been scheduled for delivery June 3rd and is
to be taught by the City of Richardson, TX emergency manager. Is working
on the development of a GIS course to follow the Fundamentals course.
Notes that she is still looking for additional adjunct faculty. For
further information, Dorothy Miller can be reached at:
dorothy@utdallas.edu.

**(12) Using GIS To Demonstrate Successful Floodplain Management:**

March 10, 2003 \-- Was provided a copy of a September 2002 dated CD ROM
from the Mitigation Division on \"Using GIS To Demonstrate Successful
Floodplain Management,\" which I would recommend for all those teaching
hazard, disaster, emergency management college courses. The stated
purpose of the CD is \"to provide an example of how Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) can be utilized as a planning and marketing
tool to promote hazard mitigation.\" Kinston-Lenoir County NC is used as
the case study platform for information within this CD. Amongst the
items one can find are: (1) Innovative Floodplain Management Case Study,
(2) Using GIS To Demonstrate Successful Floodplain Management Power
Point Presentation, (3) GIS Map Powered by ArcReader, and (4)
Information and Resources. This CD ROM was initiated, planned and
developed by FEMA, in collaboration with the State of NC Division of
Emergency Management, Kinston-Lenoir County, NC, and Environmental
Systems Research Institute, Inc., (ESRI). Copies can be ordered by
calling the FEMA Publications and Distribution Facility at:
800-480-2520. The order number is FEMA 416CD.

**(13) Weber State University, Ogden Utah:**

March 14, 2002 \-- Talked with Dr. Richard Ordyna, Emergency
Preparedness Coordinator for Weber State concerning CERT classes being
taught there \-- learned that in recent months approximately 250
faculty, staff and students have taken CERT classes (Citizen Emergency
Response Teams). Asked Dr. Ordyna if he would draft a statement
concerning this initiative to post on the EM HiEd Project Website \--
for a new section to be called \"Collegiate CERT.\" He agreed to draft
this narrative \-- which would be the first to be posted to this new
section. Was told that Weber State is still thinking about attempting to
develop an Emergency Management Bachelor Degree, and that attendance at
this year\'s EM HiEd conference might help in gathering enough
ammunition to move forward. For further information, Dr. Ordyna can be
reached at: rordyna@weber.edu.

**(14) West Texas A& M University:**

March 11, 2003 \-- Learned that West Texas A&M has developed and
implemented an \"On-Line Emergency Management Administration Bachelor of
Applied Arts and Science Degree Program aimed primarily at members of
the Fire Service, and secondarily, emergency services personnel more
broadly defined. Most of the courses taught are standard WT A&M courses
\-- mostly in the areas of management and public administration. One can
get credit for fire service training courses taken elsewhere. For
further information, contact Dr. Edwin Maloy, Academic Advisor at (806)
651-2436, or Dr. Thomas Sturtevant at (979) 458-1821, or Dr. Sue Park,
at (806) 651-2777.