13th ANNUAL FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HIGHER EDUCATION CONFERENCE June 7-10, 2010 BUILDING AND MAINTAINING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS (2nd Round of Breakout Sessions on Tuesday, June 8th) Moderator: Robert M Schwartz, Ph.D Rms73@uakron.edu Associate Professor of Emergency Management University of Akron Panel Members: Robert M Schwartz, Ph.D Rms73@uakron.edu Associate Professor of Emergency Management University of Akron Sudha Arlikatti, Ph.D Sudha.arlikatti@unt.edu Assistant Professor of Emergency Administration and Planning Program University of North Texas Daniel J Klenow, Ph.D Daniel.klenow@ndsu.edu Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Emergency Management North Dakota State Univeristy Malcolm A MacGregor, Ph.D mmacgregor@maritime.edu Professor Massachusetts Maritime Academy David M Neal, Ph.D Professor Oklahoma State University BUILDING AND MAINTAINING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS Prepared by: Elizabeth Russell e.h.russ@gmail.com Graduate Student, Elmira College Existing Programs To provide an overview of existing emergency management programs, five universities across the country gave presentations on how their program worked and the various challenges facing each program Schools included: Akron University in Akron, Ohio; University of North Texas in Denton, Texas; North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota; Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts; and Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma While all included differences in the details of the program and its requirements, all presented some basic challenges that face the emergency management field Challenges One of the problems faced by these programs is a lack of faculty in a growing field University of North Texas (UNT), for example, has only four core faculty members for its growing department Since they are expected to teach, administer, and research, these faculty members are strained Emergency management programs also suffer from a lack of accreditation standards Programs are not uniform and there is a lack consensus on what an emergency management program should entail There is much disagreement as to what emergency management constitutes and whether or not it should be considered in educational programs or training programs According to Dr Robert Schwartz of Akron University, many people entering programs are from response fields They come into the program with a response-based mentality and not necessarily view the program as one of holistic education Thus, there remains an emphasis on response capabilities as opposed to a theory-based, critical thinking emphasis Dr David O’Neal of Oklahoma State University affirmed this same challenge by asserting the need for a balance between education and experience As there is no consensus on the emphasis on training vs education, there is also no consensus as to whether or not the emergency management field is one in which education places greater emphasis on a person’s educational background or on their experiences Is it better to hire a 25-year-old with a Ph.D or a 50-yearold firefighter with no formal education? In order to properly educate students and build and maintain the most successful program, this is a pertinent question to consider Another dilemma faced by the emergency management field is a lack of diversity amongst its students The faculty itself remains quite diverse, representing a number of fields and career paths In contrast, however, the student body within the emergency management field is lacking greatly in females, the elderly, the poor, and minorities However, disasters and emergencies know few bounds and tend to affect all of the above groups In order to improve the quality of the emergency management field and the work done therein, this diversity ought to be improved to include these underrepresented groups ... standards Programs are not uniform and there is a lack consensus on what an emergency management program should entail There is much disagreement as to what emergency management constitutes and. ..BUILDING AND MAINTAINING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS Prepared by: Elizabeth Russell e.h.russ@gmail.com Graduate Student, Elmira College Existing Programs To provide an overview of existing emergency... the poor, and minorities However, disasters and emergencies know few bounds and tend to affect all of the above groups In order to improve the quality of the emergency management field and the