VCU news

By Mike Porter

Virginia Commonwealth University this month will award diplomas to the first group of students to complete the only bachelor’s degree program in homeland security and emergency preparedness at a major research university in the United States.

“They have a degree that no one else does. They are pioneers. It gets them noticed,” said William W. Newmann, Ph.D., associate professor and director of undergraduate programs for VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder Schoolof Governmentand Public Affairs.

The bachelor of arts degrees will be awarded to four students during a 2:30 p.m. ceremony on May 20 at the Richmond Convention Center.

The graduates are Avery Church of Exmore, Va., who will receive a dual degree in political science and homeland security and emergency preparedness; Bryan Downer of Richmond, who will receive a degree in homeland security and emergency preparedness; James Yassine of Sterling, Va., who will receive a dual degree in political science and homeland security and emergency preparedness; and Amanda Turner of Gloucester, Va., who will receive a dual degree in forensic science and homeland security and emergency preparedness.

“I feel really marketable,” said Turner, the first member of her family to earn a bachelor’s degree. She had considered joining the Virginia Air National Guard before the September 11^th terror attacks but a recruiter encouraged her to hold off until she received a college degree so she could become an officer.

Turner will pursue a career as a support staff member with a federal government agency and she is interested in getting an on-line master’s degree in homeland security and  emergency preparedness which VCU hopes to offer as early as spring 2007.  

Associate Professor William Parrish, a former senior official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said government agencies and private firms will welcome the new graduates.

“These current and future graduates understand the roles and functions of homeland security agencies as well as how they interact,” Parrish said. “Homeland security covers almost every aspect of society. There are jobs across the spectrum and tremendous opportunities for our graduates.”

Newmann said VCU’s degree program is getting noticed by potential employers.

“The Pentagon and the FBI were practically doing back flips when they learned we were starting this,” he said. “The Virginia Department of Emergency Management is also very interested and excited.”

VCU received approval for a Bachelor of Arts degree in homeland security and emergency preparedness from the State Council of Higher Education on May 10, 2005.  The first courses were offered during the fall semester. A master’s degree program has been developed and is expected to be offered starting in the spring of 2007.

For more information on the program, visit www.vcu.edu/homeland.