DHS Picks Seven Schools for Preparedness Initiative
"This is an important step in our work with the academic community to help campuses prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate crisis and emergency situations," Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said April 2.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano visited Philadelphia's Drexel University on April 2 to announce the seven colleges and universities competitively selected to participate in the DHS Campus Resilience Pilot Program: Drexel University; Eastern Connecticut State University (Willimantic, Conn.); Green River Community College (Auburn, Wash.); Navajo Technical College (Crownpoint, N.M.); Texas A&M University (College Station, Texas); Tougaloo College (Jackson, Miss.); and the University of San Francisco (San Francisco, Calif.)
DHS will work with the seven, using existing resources and collaborating with federal, state, and local stakeholders, to identify new approaches to promote campus resilience and make these and other educational institutions safer and more prepared. "This is an important step in our work with the academic community to help campuses prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate crisis and emergency situations," Napolitano said. "Through their work with DHS, these colleges and universities will help us further develop best practices, resources, and tools needed to assist campus communities nationwide in their efforts to reduce gun violence on campuses and bolster resilience and emergency planning processes for all types of hazards."
The CR Pilot will emphasize the importance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's "Whole Community" approach to planning and resilience efforts, and will highlight the needs of various student populations.