University News
WIU Emergency Management Program
January 20, 2010
MACOMB, IL -- After last week's devastating earthquake in Haiti, recovery from this "worst-case situation," according to Western Illinois University emergency management faculty member Jack Rozdilsky, will not take months but years, perhaps even decades. Rozdilsky, an assistant professor in Western's emergency management program within the health sciences department, specializes in natural hazards and emergency management issues. His research in the disaster field focuses on the social and physical aspects of long-term disaster recovery.
"Efforts in Haiti today, a full week after the disaster and after Wednesday's strong aftershock, are now beginning to shift from the response to the recovery phase. While there have been some very recent stories about rescued individuals, increasingly you will see reports about how the small island nation, which is about the size of Maryland, and the global entities aiding the efforts are dealing with recovery. As time goes on, we will witness actions taking place to prevent more of a complex humanitarian crisis," Rozdilsky explained.
Rozdilsky joined Western's emergency management program in 2009. He not only brings academic experience to the program, but also practical application experience, as he assisted with the management in a few of the United States' recent disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005; the 2007 tornado in Greensburg (KS), which caused 11 deaths and destroyed 961 homes and businesses (source: National Weather Service); and the 1993 floods along the Mississippi. According to Rozdilsky, the department's emergency management program started in 2007 and is the first one offered by a public or private university or college in Illinois. It remains the only one in the state. In fact, he noted, it is one of a very few programs like it in the country.
"There are probably about 25 institutions that offer programs similar to ours at the bachelor's level. There are many other programs that offer certificates and online training, but our program at Western focuses on comprehensive emergency management, as opposed to just training in specific procedures," Rozdilsky said.
Mark Kelley, chair of the health sciences department at Western, noted that in addition to faculty members like Jack Rozdilsky, with expertise in natural disaster long-term recovery, the department's faculty includes expertise in man-made disasters, terrorism and disaster education. Overall, the program offers a comprehensive approach for students who wish to pursue careers in emergency management.
"We also have Jamie Johnson, whose expertise is in the public health side of man-caused disasters and who does some consulting work with federal intelligence agencies," Kelley explained. "Our emergency management program provides knowledge and training in the four phases of emergency management field, including mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. So not only do our students learn how to prepare emergency plans and procedures for natural and man-made disasters and the coordination activities that are necessary for the plans to be implemented, our program also provides them with effective emergency management networking skills that can be applied in both the public and private sectors, as well as in volunteer- and community-based organizations."
Nick DiGrino, dean of the College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) at Western, noted the impetus for the program arose out of the focused attention at the federal, state and local levels on planning for, and effective response to, both types of disasters, natural and man-made.
"A few years ago, faculty and staff within the College investigated the role higher education was playing relative to applied research and professional preparation. Our findings, coupled with what I discovered upon learning about what my daughter was studying in this discipline at Arkansas Tech University, reinforced a COEHS initiative, with and through the health sciences department, to gauge student and occupational demand, as well as institutional readiness. The health sciences department was able to capitalize on existing faculty strengths, realign faculty resources and hire outstanding faculty, and assemble a talented group of 'advisers' comprised of practicing professionals to assist with the development of a responsive curriculum," he explained.
Set for Growth
According to an article that ran in U.S. News and World Report late last year (www.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2009/12/28/emergency-management.html), careers in emergency management "should have strong growth over the next decade." Members of the faculty in WIU's emergency management program, as well as in COEHS and in the health sciences department, are working to position the program to align with this growing need for emergency management professionals.
"The field is in transition from a job to a profession," Kelley explained. "While it may seem a bit unusual that the program is situated in the health sciences department at Western, we feel it works well with the public health response that is inevitably part of any type of disaster."
Rozdilsky added that the reality is that there is not a question of if a disaster will occur but when a disaster will occur.
"For those of us who live in the Midwest, a good example of 'when' is the New Madrid fault. In 1811, there was an 8.2 earthquake in the New Madrid area. The New Madrid seismic zone is a series of faults running beneath the surface from Cairo (IL) for 150 miles southwest toward Arkansas. It crosses five state lines and crosses the Mississippi River in at least three places," Rozdilsky explained.
"The granddaddy of North American earthquake events was the 1811-1812 series comprised of three great quakes on the New Madrid Fault (halfway between St. Louis and Memphis beneath the Mississippi), which shook the entire United States. The New Madrid earthquake of December 1811 Dr. Rozdilsky referred to rang church bells in Boston (MA). The next time the New Madrid Fault produces such a quake, it is estimated 60 percent of Memphis will be devastated, leaving $50 billion in damage and thousands of dead in its wake," Kelley noted.
"If that happened again, it would indeed impact Illinois, so what we look at in Illinois is educating students about how we prepare our structures so they can withstand the potential for those types of earthquakes," Rozdilsky said. "Next year, our program and our students are planning to take part in an 11-state exercise, which will take place during the 200th anniversary year of the 1811 earthquake, to provide training for the possibility of responding to another devastating New Madrid earthquake."
In addition to that training exercise, Kelley noted WIU's emergency management program is also establishing a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which would help train students about how to deal with catastrophic flooding, which has wreaked havoc for riverside communities in the Midwest and around the rest of the country, as well.
"Our partnership with the Corps is actually part of a pilot program. There are six institutions in the country with which the Army Corps of Engineers is establishing this pilot. It is specifically to provide that agency with a flow of emergency managers. This spring, we will start screening sophomores and juniors for the program. Those who make it through will be employed part time during the school year, potentially full time during the summers, by a local office of the Corps. Then, if a student so chooses, the graduate will have the opportunity to take a job with the Corps, a job in which the individual will be dealing directly with flooding emergencies and disasters," Kelley said.
For more information about Western's emergency management program, contact Kelley at (309) 298-1076 or RM-Kelley@wiu.edu. For specific questions about long-term recovery from natural disasters, contact Rozdilsky at (309) 298-1621 or JL-Rozdilsky@wiu.edu.
Western Illinois University students, faculty and staff interested in helping Haitian relief efforts following the devastating Jan. 10 earthquake are invited to attend an informational meeting with American Red Cross and Salvation Army personnel at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21 in the University Union Grand Ballroom (see: wiu.edu/newsrelease.sphp?release_id=7832).
Posted By: Teresa Koltzenburg (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
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