About the Author
Richard Rotanz is the Special Advisor to the Provost for Emergency Management Programs.
Adelphi's Institute for Emergency Management
Richard Rotanz
Our society faces a broad spectrum of threats from domestic and international terrorism, from technological breakdowns, and from those challenges arising from Mother Nature. Events such as the hostage taking of an elementary school in Balsan, Russia, the potential use and the threat of nuclear and biological weapons, the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, and recent killer hurricanes are all too real and too frequent to ignore. Emergency managers are also faced with the task of managing large scale public gatherings and their associated security and logistical implications. Visits of dignitaries, political conventions, presumed peaceful demonstrations, and athletic events are all looked at quite differently in the contemporary world.
Disasters and catastrophes that rain down upon societies define a multitude of issues leading to a goal of adequate preparedness. The disruption of the critical infrastructure, mass medical patient and fatality management, the continuity of government with its critical social services, business continuity, and the stability of our criminal justice systems are only part of the long list of concerns addressed in emergency management.
In identifying the need to train emergency managers for the public and private sectors, Adelphi University has brought in a team of professionals with both the field experience and the academic background to develop the Institute for Emergency Management. This team, spearheaded by Richard Rotanz, special advisor to the provost for emergency management programs, has recently instituted a graduate Certificate Program in Emergency Management, and is currently working on developing a master’s in emergency management for the near future.
Students enrolling in these programs will attend classes covering a wide range of emergency management topics. These include social and organizational preparedness, law in the time of disasters, planning and coordinating response, leadership, disasters involving our medical community, and infrastructure defense and capabilities. The anticipated master’s program will adopt multiple tracks to allow students to pursue specialty areas in business and nursing while incorporating critical skills from the field of emergency management. 
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