1. North Dakota State University Department of Emergency Management Department 2351 P.O. Box 6050 Fargo, ND 58108-6050 (701) 231-5595 A Preview of What Emergency Management Students Study at NDSU

2. There has been a long history of events labeled emergency, disaster, or catastrophe throughout human history…

3. These events stay in our collective memory for a variety of reasons including:

4. The numbers of lives lost

5. What people believed caused the incident;

6. The stories, poems, paintings, and songs that are passed down from generation to generation; and,

7. The significant changes that came about after the events.

8. In fact, these events, in many cases, were responsible for significant social, cultural, and political change including (among many others):

9. The RISE and FALL of Empires;

10. The Destruction of Civilizations;

11. Shifts in Cultural Beliefs;

12. Political Revolutions;

13. Technological Revolutions;

14. Scientific Advances; and,

15. Huge Migrations of People.

16. Just a few of the historical events that standout are…

17. The Flood and Noah’s Ark

18. The Biblical Plagues

19. Sodom and Gomorrah

20. The Sinking of Atlantis

21. Pompeii

22. Rome Burning

23. Lisbon Earthquake

24. Humans often perceived these events to have been

25. Brought on by God’s wrath;

26. As Inevitable;

27. As Unstoppable; and,

28. As a Chance to Start Over.

29. In modern times, large scale events occur seemingly every day...

30. The large scale events have more and more consequences and costs associated with them…

31. And there are many more types of large scale events…

32. We have large scale events triggered by “natural” mechanisms that are similar to those experienced in ancient times such as…

33. Wildfires

34. Volcanic Eruptions

35. Blizzards

36. Landslides

37. Tsunamis

38. Avalanches

39. Hurricanes

40. Earthquakes

41. Famines

42. Pandemics (i.e. Avian Flu)

43. Tornados

44. Floods

45. Ship Wrecks

46. In modern times, we also see events triggered by

47. Technology

48. Development Patterns

49. Globalization

50. Infrastructure

51. And other Mechanisms that did not Necessarily exist in Ancient Times.

52. Industrial Fires

53. Plane Crashes

54. Building Collapses

55. Traffic Accidents

56. Apartment Fires

57. Train Wrecks

58. Oil Spills

59. Terrorism

60. Hazardous Materials Accidents

61. Increasingly humans believe that large scale events

62. Are Caused by Humans Interaction with their Environment;

63. Are NOT Inevitable;

64. Are NOT Unstoppable;

65. Can be labeled variously as emergencies, disasters, catastrophes, or complex humanitarian crises;

66. And, that while starting over would be ideal it is often not possible.

67. We now see decreasing numbers of deaths related to large scale events.

68. We see increasing costs and consequences of large scale events.

69. Emergency Management was developed as both an academic discipline and profession to help address the increasing costs and consequences of events.

70. The academic discipline of emergency management studies how human beings create, interact, and cope with hazards, vulnerability, and associated events.

71. The academic disciplines serves the profession of emergency management.

72. The profession is charged with protecting "communities by coordinating and integrating all activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from threatened or actual natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man- made disasters" according to the Principles of Emergency Management (2007).

73. Emergency management professionals work in agencies and organizations in the private and nongovernmental sectors and government.

74. Think you might want to get a degree in Emergency Management?

75. Here’s what you will study…

76. Students in emergency management learn about WHY has there been shift in beliefs, structures, types, and impacts associated with emergencies, disasters, and catastrophes, as well as the beliefs, structures, types, and impacts associated with these events in the UNITED STATES today.

77. Students learn about why the United States’ experience emergencies, disasters, and catastrophes

78. how we do,

79. when we do,

80. and to the extent we do, and

81. Most importantly, students learn how we can

82. Decrease the frequency of emergencies, disasters and catastrophes;

83. Decrease the impacts and needs generated as a result of these events when they do occur;

84. And, Cope with these events effectively and efficiently.

85. Interested in learning more about the Emergency Management degree programs offered at NDSU?

86. Contact Us: North Dakota State University Department of Emergency Management Department 2351 P.O. Box 6050 Fargo, ND 58108-6050 (701) 231-559 www.ndsu.edu/emgt