{"id":108755,"date":"2020-04-27T11:31:13","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T15:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755//?p=108755"},"modified":"2022-03-29T16:34:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T20:34:16","slug":"into-the-heart-of-a-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755//into-the-heart-of-a-crisis/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755//","title":{"rendered":"Into the Heart of a Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few of us, if we/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2019re honest, paid full attention to the actions of task forces or crisis and emergency managers /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2014 until mid-March. Now, the world practically turns on their every move. At a most coincidental time, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is about to graduate its first three students from the Masters of Emergency and Crisis Management (MECM) program. They happen to be at the leading edge of an oncoming wave./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201cBecause the program is so young, we can adjust the lessons to reflect whatever is going on in real time./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201d – Claire Connolly Knox, director of the program./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201cStudents are attracted to the program because they/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2019ve been directly impacted by recent disasters /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2014 hurricanes, the BP oil spill, the Pulse Nightclub massacre, and now the pandemic,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201d says Claire Connolly Knox, director of the program. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201cInterest has taken off almost exponentially./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

Both the bachelor/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2019s and master/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2019s programs in emergency management launched in Fall 2018. Initial projections of 20 students taking up the major by 2020 has been raised to 150 for the coming fall. And U.S. News and World Report ranked Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2019s MECM program No. 2 in the nation./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

The first three graduates, and Knox, provide a wide-lens picture of who is at the heart of emergency and crisis management./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

The Director/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

It takes only a few seconds before Knox/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2019s passion for the environment can be heard clearly. A minute later, the Louisiana Cajun accent also sneaks in./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201cGrowing up in the coastal wetlands, I understood how fragile our relationship is with nature, and the impact it can have when it breaks down. The wetlands are the first line of defense against hurricanes./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

Still, she had no idea how bad it could be. While studying for her master/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2019s in public administration at Florida State University in 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated her beloved Bayou State. The scrambled response became a series of tragic lessons learned /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2014 communication, collaboration, basic preparedness. The aftermath also kick-started Knox on a path that drew her to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, in a region with more than its share of crises and at a school willing to adopt new ideas./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201cBecause the program is so young, we can adjust the lessons to reflect whatever is going on in real time. That/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2019s essential in this dynamic and complex profession,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201d she says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

At the moment, she and other program faculty are literally creating new teaching modules derived from the ongoing COVID-19 experience. The team in the MECM curriculum includes some of the most published and cited scholars in this discipline, as well as an advisory board of practitioners from every sector. Knox also points to a group just as valuable: the students./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201cSomething other than fancy titles and hats is driving them,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201cIt/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u2019s their hearts. They make the program real because of their own experiences./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

The Security Specialist/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n

Jaime Garcia first recognized a whole new world opening in his field of expertise, ironically the same day he had to close himself off./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/108755/n