Newspaper: The Citizen's Voice
Date: March 29, 2004

Campus readiness targeted

A new initiative is linking colleges and students with the community in preparing for terrorism, natural disasters and other crisises.

Dubbed "Ready Campus," the program provides training and planning for colleges and universities to react to a disaster in their community. The first regional workshop will be held Sept. 30 at College Misericordia. It is funded by a $500,000 grant from the state Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

Dr. Michael McDowell, president of College Misericordia, said more than 100 representatives from area colleges and universities have already signed up for the workshop.

The college gained firsthand experience in providing community assistance during the Agnes Flood in 1972.

The college opened its facilities to house over 1,000 displaced residents and served as an emergency center when Nesbitt Hospital was flooded. "We had 52 babies born here during that time," McDowell said. "We learned from those actions during the flood, but there have been so many advances since then that need to be incorporated.

The training will focus on providing facilities to support emergencies, training students and faculty to assist Red Cross and service learning modules.

For more information, visit www.readycampus.org.