Colorado Springs – The University of Colorado will offer a first-of-its-kind, federally funded doctoral degree in homeland security to strengthen the country’s research in preventing and preparing for terrorist attacks and natural disasters, president Hank Brown said Thursday.
The program could start as early as next fall at the Graduate School of Public Affairs in Denver, pending President Bush’s approval of a $1.9 million congressional allocation.
The federal money would go to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., which is partnering with CU.
Leaders from both schools said that after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, academic and government officials called for advanced research in homeland security. The government’s response to Hurricane Katrina reinforced that view, they said.
“We have not been doing basic research in this area,” said Pam Shockley, chancellor of CU-Colorado Springs, which helped develop the program with U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs. “We have been reacting.”
The Naval Postgraduate School, which provides master’s and doctoral degrees primarily to military officers, established the country’s first master’s degree in homeland security in January 2003, said John Sanders, director of institutional advancement.
“9/11 occurred, and that brought a realization that the nation needed a group of people in homeland security with a new kind of skill set,” he said. “There is a general belief among a number of people that there are still skill sets that are important for the long term that require a level of knowledge that goes beyond a master’s degree.”
The doctoral degree will be in public affairs with a concentration in homeland security.
The program will train researchers who will have direct links to first-responders, such as firefighters and law officers, said Kathleen Beatty, dean of the Graduate School of Public Affairs at CU. Scholars in homeland security would study the vulnerability of potential terrorist targets and share that research with officials in the field, for example.
Beatty said CU will select students for the program and will maintain control over the curriculum.
The original request to set up the doctoral degree program was about $3.5 million, nearly twice the $1.9 million allocated last month.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
