Congressmen Patrick J. Kennedy and Jim Langevin announced that the University of Rhode Island’s National Institute for Public Safety Research Training is slated to receive $260,688 to develop and strengthen on-campus emergency management plan strategies as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Management for Higher Education discretionary grant program.

Commander Shad Ahmed, chief of URI’s Emergency Medical Services and director of the National Institute for Public Safety Research Training, is the grant’s principal investigator. URI is one of 26 academic institutions nationwide to be included in this $9.7 million program, which is also run with assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

“The National Institute for Public Safety Research Training at URI has distinguished itself as a leader in the development of national preparedness programs to support homeland security efforts,” said Kennedy, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “This is a crucial endeavor that will enable URI researchers to provide first responders with the resources and tools they need to save lives and strengthen our nation’s emergency response programs.”

Langevin agreed, noting that campuses should have plans and resources in place in the event of an emergency that are separate from those of local first responders.

“I am pleased that our state’s largest public institution was included in this program, which will help coordinate best practices nationwide in an effort to keep students, faculty, staff and first responders safe,” Langevin said.

This latest award follows a December 2008 $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for URI to develop a National Institute for Public Safety Research Training. Ahmed is the lead investigator on that grant as well.

“This second grant will allow us to provide a link between the work of URI faculty and other faculty around the country, with eventual dissemination to first responders,” said Ahmed. “We have a great corps of experts here at URI, but there was no mechanism to put their work into the hands of practitioners.”

Ahmed would like to see the research be made available to colleges and universities, as well as states, counties and local governments.

“This grant will give us an opportunity to ensure that the improvements made in the last several years become finalized and integrated into a single plan,” said Robert Drapeau, Ph.D, URI director of public safety and the grant’s co-principal investigator. “We hope the research from these two grants will complement each other and help establish a national model for emergency management planning and National Incident Management System training for higher education professionals.”

Each plan, as specified in the grant application, must address all four phases of emergency management: Prevention-Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery. Funds may be used to update existing emergency management plans, conduct vulnerability assessments of campus facilities, provide training to campus staff and students, organize tabletop exercises or large-scale drills, collaborate with local first responders and community partners and develop or enhance plans for preventing violence on campus by assessing and addressing the mental health needs of students who may be at risk of causing campus violence.

The grants are housed within the Department’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, which supports efforts to create safe schools, respond to crises, prevent drug and alcohol abuse, ensure the health and well-being of students, and teach students good citizenship and character. The office also coordinates the Department’s efforts in these areas with other federal agencies.