I think I have the best job in the entire emergency management world. It's challenging, rewarding, exhilarating, frustrating and confusing. Generally, all at the same time.
Having emergency managers on higher ed campuses wasn't all that popular until Virginia Tech. After that - just like they all rushed to implement emergency notification systems - campuses rushed to identify and/or hire an emergency manager.
Today, higher ed campuses are a hotbed of emergency management activity. The number of campus emergency managers is exploding - many of them arriving with a "formal" education, i.e.: degrees, certifications, credentials.
What is unique about working on campus is that whether it is public or private, 2- or 4-year, urban or rural, the priority is the safety and security of students. This is true whether the students live in campus residential halls or commute; whether they are international students or part of a study abroad program; whether they are away from home for the first time or working toward their doctorate degree.
HOWEVER, getting the attention of the students can be complicated. They are on a misson! They want to attend classes and graduate with a diploma that will propel them into the "real world". The campus is not the "real world". Why should they spend a lot of energy - that could be going toward accomplishing their mission! - thinking about emergencies?
On the plus side, higher ed campuses are the venues that create and embrace new ideas and technology. This is where you are unquestionably required to understand and use social networking tools. This is also where students pass H1N1 around playing 'beer pong'.
The latest emergency management trend on campus is continuity planning. Not business continuity planning: the academic side would ignore it. Not academic continuity planning: the business side would assume it didn't apply to them. It is continuity planning. Period.
If you think you'd like to be an emergency manager on a higher ed campus - do think about this before you make that jump:
These are academic environments. There are arguments over whether to use the APA or MLA style in papers, which has to do with how to list the references from the research you are required to do before you submit your proposals. There are taskforces and committees that deliberate before making recommendations. This can take a looong time. They make decisions by consensus. They notice bad spelling, bad grammar and bad sentence construction.
Think you can handle it? It's a piece of cake!
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Having emergency managers on higher ed campuses wasn't all that popular until Virginia Tech. After that - just like they all rushed to implement emergency notification systems - campuses rushed to identify and/or hire an emergency manager.
Today, higher ed campuses are a hotbed of emergency management activity. The number of campus emergency managers is exploding - many of them arriving with a "formal" education, i.e.: degrees, certifications, credentials.
What is unique about working on campus is that whether it is public or private, 2- or 4-year, urban or rural, the priority is the safety and security of students. This is true whether the students live in campus residential halls or commute; whether they are international students or part of a study abroad program; whether they are away from home for the first time or working toward their doctorate degree.
HOWEVER, getting the attention of the students can be complicated. They are on a misson! They want to attend classes and graduate with a diploma that will propel them into the "real world". The campus is not the "real world". Why should they spend a lot of energy - that could be going toward accomplishing their mission! - thinking about emergencies?
On the plus side, higher ed campuses are the venues that create and embrace new ideas and technology. This is where you are unquestionably required to understand and use social networking tools. This is also where students pass H1N1 around playing 'beer pong'.
The latest emergency management trend on campus is continuity planning. Not business continuity planning: the academic side would ignore it. Not academic continuity planning: the business side would assume it didn't apply to them. It is continuity planning. Period.
If you think you'd like to be an emergency manager on a higher ed campus - do think about this before you make that jump:
These are academic environments. There are arguments over whether to use the APA or MLA style in papers, which has to do with how to list the references from the research you are required to do before you submit your proposals. There are taskforces and committees that deliberate before making recommendations. This can take a looong time. They make decisions by consensus. They notice bad spelling, bad grammar and bad sentence construction.
Think you can handle it? It's a piece of cake!
