Hoping for the Best While Preparing for the Worst: Disasters, Emergencies, and the Community College
Touching accounts and practical information unite in this essential guide to properly preparing for and responding to unexpected tragedy. You’ll read case studies of unforeseen predicaments at community colleges, how they were handled, and the plans made to better manage adversity in the future. Planning processes for preparation, response, and recovery, as well as checklists of essential activities and other resources, are also included.

How Do You Prepare Your Community for Disaster? A Report of the Third Annual Disaster Preparedness Summit
This report from the third annual Homeland Security and Civic Engagement Summit provides information about best practices for creating or improving disaster preparedness programs and increasing prospects for community engagement.

Homeland Security and Civic Engagement: A Report of the Second Annual Summit (.pdf)
This report captures the content of the second annual Homeland Security and Civic Engagement Summit held to assist community college stakeholders create and improve homeland security education and training programs that emphasize community engagement.

July 2003 Leadership Abstracts
This article reports on recent summits opening a dialogue about the role of community colleges in Homeland Security. What emerged was the clear call for community colleges to step to the forefront with continued and unified training standards and a truly national system for Homeland Security. Read about the results of the summits and the forecast for the future of Homeland Security.

That Is The Terror
Amazed, shaken, worried, angry, and resolved are probably the stages many of us went through watching the events of September 11, 2001. How could anyone commit such a horrible act of terror? How could anyone consider the wholesale slaughter of thousands of innocent people a victory for some sort of cause? This article was the League's immediate response to the events of this tragic day.

Courageous Responses
Firefighters, police officers, construction workers, paramedics, clergy, soldiers, and even bystanders showed true courage in the face of 9/11. One year after the horrific events of that day, League CEO Mark David Milliron shared a perspective on other courageous responses to this terrorism, particularly those that educators are called to champion.

Homeland Security Assessment
Many organizations have embraced the concept of improving overall performance by using Baldrige criteria as a benchmark to gauge their strengths and opportunities for improvement, and as a measurement of their overall alignment and integration of key processes. Homeland security readiness for higher education institutions can also be addressed by conducting a campuswide self-assessment. This workshop involves the assessment of an institution's homeland security vulnerabilities to ensure its readiness during turbulent times.

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Senator Clinton Endorses Community Colleges as Providers of Homeland Security Training

FEMA's Emergency Management Institute Higher Education Project

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Home Page)

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Undergraduate Scholarships and Graduate Fellowships)

Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership (A voluntary association of organizations and individuals, seeking to enhance their effectiveness in coping with disasters and emergency situations, by exploring the opportunity for sharing information and ideas made possible by electronic technology.)

Citizen Leadership Education
The ability of diverse people to collaborate to resolve conflict, accept responsibility for the direction of the community, reach consensus about community problems and solutions, creatively solve problems on behalf of the common good, and restore hope for the future
Debbie Mikolajczyk, Coordinator, Entrepreneurial and Leadership Development; Pam Whitelock, Dean, Lifelong Learning, Gulf Coast Community College (FL)

Connector Program
Established in 1998, the Connector Program is a collaboration between Mesa Fire Department and Mesa Community College. The program is designed to provide social service assistance in the City of Mesa after the initial 911 call. Services include social service referral, elder care referral, homeless shelter needs, transportation, fire victim assistance, financial referral, and motorist assistance.
Larry Thacker, Senior Associate Dean, Career and Technical Programs, Mesa Community College (AZ)

SAFE Projects (Model Service Learning Projects)
Supporting Actions for Engagement (SAFE) programs at community colleges throughout the United States address service learning, civic engagement and homeland security, and domestic preparedness. These programs are funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service, Learn and Serve America.
Lyvier Conss, Executive Director, Community College National Center for Community Engagement, Mesa Community College (AZ)

By the People: America in the World
By the People, an initiative of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, aims to energize and enhance the conversation on America's role in the world through a series of nationwide and local broadcasts and events that demonstrate the relevance of foreign policy issues to local concerns. The project includes three national PBS specials, national and local forums for civic dialogue, and an interactive website. Among the goals of the project is to facilitate discussion among diverse groups by providing web-based and other resources that can support and extend the work of local organizations involved in projects focused on community engagement and development. Community colleges are natural partners in this effort, and we are eager to pursue opportunities for collaboration.
Gail M. Leftwich, Executive Director, By the People (VA)

Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

Homeland Defense Journal

The Leader in Homeland Security Education (CNN)