Center for Disaster Research and Education Established at MU

The new Center has been established because of the unique relationships Millersville faculty have developed with other researchers, institutes and government agencies regarding disaster research and education, and because of the continuing threat to this nation from terrorists. It will oversee a variety of University initiatives, such as the new minor in environmental hazards and emergency management. 

Its goals include conducting research into the behavioral and organizational response to disasters and terrorism, including the media, as well as risk and hazards assessment, in order to contribute to the continually developing research literature; disseminating research findings, including those already a part of the research literature, in a language and format that is useful to the general public, mass media personnel, and emergency management personnel-as well as researchers; contributing to the education of the next generation of disaster researchers, emergency managers, and knowledgeable community members; and contributing to the education of current community members pursuant to developing, in the words of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a disaster resilient community.

Commenting on the new Center, Dr. Francine G. McNairy, president of MU, said that because of the expertise of Millersville’s faculty in the area of disaster management and research, including serving the White House as a consultant on bio-terrorism, opportunities for service to students and the larger community became evident. “Further, since 9/11 and the on-going threat of terrorism in our country, it seemed that the establishment of such a Center would be beneficial to the University, its students, as well as disaster management agencies and people across the United States. ”   

Dr. Henry “Hank” Fischer, a professor of sociology at Millersville who has taken the lead in coordinating the development of the Center, sees the CDRE as the next step in coalescing current disaster research and management activities at the University, as well as drawing from the talent of a broader pool of Millersville faculty.  MU faculty who have already joined in the mission of the Center are: Dr. Marlene Arnold, as associate for cross-cultural issues and policy; Dr. Kimberly Mahaffy, as associate for survey research; and Dr. John Scala, as associate for meteorological research and applications.

“Among the Center’s future plans are the development of a distance learning certificate program in emergency management,” explains Fischer, “as well as a master of science degree in emergency management, and a fellowship program on “disaster and terrorism” for members of the local, regional and national media.”

The CDRE, through the efforts of Dr. Fischer, has already developed partnerships with the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Emergency Preparedness, the Early Responders Distance Learning Center at St. Joseph’s University, the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware, the Organization of American States, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction of Canada, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security, and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel.

More information on the activities of the CDRE is available by calling (717) 872-3568 or by visiting the CDRE website, www.millersville.edu/~CDRE.