For more than a decade, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ Emergency Management Professor has helped shape conversations about what the standards for emergency management education should look like.

Now, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ is helping set them.

This summer, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s online Master of Emergency and Crisis Management (MECM), which Knox founded and directs, became the first emergency management graduate program to earn accreditation from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA).

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ is one of six programs nationwide — and the only emergency management program — to be newly accredited by NASPAA, recognizing its commitment to high-quality education that prepares skilled emergency management leaders.

NASPAA is considered the global standard for public service education, accrediting programs that prepare students to become leaders, managers and analysts in public service. Earning accreditation requires a rigorous, years-long process that includes self-study, site visits and peer review.

“… this accomplishment is not just for us and our program. We did it to advance our discipline …” — Claire Connolly Knox, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ emergency management professor

For Knox, a professor in it’s a milestone years in the making for a growing discipline she and other emergency management scholars have helped build.

“Talking about accreditation has been a very eye-opening conversation considering that this is still a relatively new discipline, and one we are collectively building and shaping for the next generation as we go,” Knox says. “It’s a huge milestone, but this accomplishment is not just for us and our program. We did it to advance our discipline, and I’m excited to see how NASPAA accreditation elevates that.”

Creating the Blueprint

As natural and human-caused disasters become more frequent, educated emergency management professionals play a critical role in assisting communities with mitigating risks, preparing for crises, responding when disaster strikes and supporting recovery afterward.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s MECM program prepares students to protect and lead communities through those processes with advanced coursework, research, and embedded real-world experience. For the past three years, the program has also held the distinction of being the nation’s No. 1-ranked emergency management graduate program by U.S. News & World Report.

That success didn’t come by chance.

Before the program launched in 2018, Knox and colleagues designed its curriculum with the discipline’s future in mind. They created a framework anchored by NASPAA’s universal required competencies and FEMA’s Next Generation Core Competencies, with the hope that it could one day help establish a national standard.

Knox credits Mary Ann Feldheim, associate professor emerita in the School of Public Administration, with paving the way for both the program’s design and its path toward accreditation.

“For a long time, NASPAA only accredited public administration, public affairs and public policy programs,” Knox says. “Under Mary Ann Feldheim’s leadership and strategic planning, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s master’s in nonprofit management program was the first of its kind to be NASPAA-accredited. She set the bar and opened the door for other sub-disciplines of public administration. So much of what I’ve been able to create for my program has been because I watched and learned from her.”

Achieving a Common Goal

A significant portion of the accreditation process was a two-year self-study evaluation that required Knox, program faculty, and the MECM advisory board to collect data, review materials, and assess the program’s curriculum.

“It was a wonderful opportunity to communicate both our successes and room for improvement, and to see the program differently,” Knox says. “Our goal is [to] prepare students to positively impact the profession and create practical, relevant, evidence-based knowledge to advance it.”

That work extends well beyond the classroom. Knox says faculty conduct community-based research that informs course design, while the program draws on experts across many sectors in Central Florida, as well as its extensive alumni network and advisory board.

“Between … teaching, research and service, [the MECM advisory board is] involved in all of it … It was great to see them come together and rally behind this goal.” — Claire Connolly Knox

The comprises representatives from all levels of government, career stages and emergency management specializations, as well as the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

From mentoring students and fundraising to reviewing the curriculum annually and connecting students with experiential learning opportunities, Knox says the board is critical to the program’s success, ensuring it keeps pace with the evolving profession.

“Our advisory board is very invested and hands-on, and many of them are also program alumni,” Knox says. “They meet with us to review learning objectives to make sure we’re still relevant and current with a very dynamic profession. Between the three major buckets of teaching, research and service, they are involved in all of it, and we couldn’t do it without them. It was great to see them come together and rally behind this goal.”

Raising the Standard

Steven Lerner ’13, a Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ public administration graduate, chair of the MECM advisory board and division manager at Seminole County’s Office of Emergency Management, says the achievement further positions Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ and Central Florida as national leaders in the discipline.

“This distinction signals to students, employers and community stakeholders that our graduates are prepared to lead the charge in advancing community resilience, safety and security.” — Brad Heim, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ School of Public Administration director

“Emergency management revolves around relationships and building trust among community partners and those we serve during emergencies and crises,” Lerner says. “Developing a strong, accredited master’s program in emergency management enhances the credibility of the daily efforts emergency managers make to keep our communities safer and more resilient.”

, director of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ School of Public Administration, says the accreditation also reinforces the growing importance and value of an advanced degree in emergency and crisis management.

“This distinction signals to students, employers and community stakeholders that our graduates are prepared to lead the charge in advancing community resilience, safety and security,” Heim says. “It’s also a testament to the dedication of our faculty, staff and advisory board — and especially to the visionary leadership and sustained investment of Dr. Knox, whose commitment made this accomplishment possible.”

NAPA is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that aims to provide expert advice to assist public administration leaders in building effective, efficient, accountable and transparent organizations. Heim was peer-nominated for the fellowship, through which he will aid in the academy’s mission to strengthen communities and provide guidance to the government on the federal, state and local levels.

“I look forward to engaging with such an incredible group of people who care so much about our country and working together to improve government functioning from the federal down to the local level.”

“I look forward to engaging with such an incredible group of people who care so much about our country and working together to improve government functioning from the federal down to the local level,” Heim says. “Being able to meet and bounce ideas off such an amazingly talented and committed group is a really exciting prospect.”

Heim is one of 42 public administration leaders from across the nation chosen to join the 2025 fellow class. He is also the sixth Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ faculty member to be selected for the honor, which he notes is extremely rare and speaks to the strength of researchers in the School of Public Administration. Selection follows a rigorous review of each individual’s contributions to the fields of public administration and policy.

“I am so pleased to welcome Brad Heim to the academy’s 2025 class of fellows,” says James-Christian Blockwood, NAPA president and CEO. “It is an incredibly important time to honor excellence in public service. Our academy fellows are nationally recognized and respected for their expertise and contributions to their country. Brad exemplifies everything we ask public servants to be.”

The newest fellows’ induction will take place during the academy’s National Conference at the beginning of November in Washington, D.C. They join more than 1,000 existing NAPA Fellows, including former cabinet officers, members of Congress, governors, mayors, state legislators, prominent scholars and executives.

“Having so many faculty representing us on the national level is just a testament to the incredible education that students at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ and the School of Public Administration receive.”

As Heim continues to build these connections and increase national visibility, Heim says his goal is to continue to provide the level of excellence in teaching and service the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ School of Public Administration has already accomplished.

“Having so many faculty representing us on the national level is just a testament to the incredible education that students at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ and the School of Public Administration receive,” Heim says. “Some universities can claim their long heritage as their proof of their excellence. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ is a young university, so we don’t have centuries of tradition to lean on, but we have achieved nationally recognized excellence in what we do here.”