When VCU started the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Program in 2005, it planned to have 100 majors in five years. Instead, the program grew to 130 students in one year.
William Newmann, associate professor and undergraduate program coordinator, said the growth of the program exceeded his expectations.
“We thought it would be kind of a quiet major, where we wouldn’t have that many people . and it’s just boomed,” he said.
Newmann credits the popularity of the HSEP program to events such as the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The event showed how important first responders are to saving lives in a crisis.
“We have a group of students . that saw 9-11 as a seminal event in their lives and felt like this was a way they could contribute, they could get involved in dealing with the war on terrorism,” Newmann said.
Another significant event that led to the rise of student interest in the school was Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Newmann said.
“Hurricane Katrina hit pretty much the week we officially started teaching the subject at VCU, and we saw enrollments soar because of it,” he said.
Newmann said students want to help fix the problems of emergency response, such as the government’s inability to get supplies to those stranded during crisis situations.
Some students say a degree in homeland security can help advance their careers. Thomas Dunn, a senior majoring in interdisciplinary studies with a minor in homeland security, has a background in public safety.
“Even in fire fighting you see more and more departments looking for people with a degree,” he said.
Dunn said the program has helped him understand what local governments do before an event to manage a disaster.
When Dunn graduates, he hopes to get a job writing or maintaining an emergency plan for a county government. The emergency preparedness side of the program attracted him to VCU.
“But I take the homeland security as a bonus to get both,” Dunn said.
Newmann said the program gives students an edge after school because they will be more familiar with strategic planning and national response plans and systems compared with others who are applying for the same jobs.
“It gives our students a little bit of a leg up, because when they walk in they can do a lot of things,” he said.
VCU is the first major university to introduce a bachelor’s degree in homeland security as a part of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. Newmann said VCU decided to fill a void in the academic community.
“As I started to search around and look at other programs, I discovered that really at the undergraduate level nobody was doing anything,” he said.
VCU could be creating a trend. Other colleges and universities, such as Savannah State University in Georgia, are working with VCU to develop similar programs.
Newmann said academics are important for the future.
“If you don’t have something outside of the policymaking field . the field won’t evolve,” he said.