E-mail Editor

Published: January 09, 2009

Story Contact: Phil Schertzing, MSU School of Criminal Justice, (517) 432-3156; or Major Audrey Brown, Michigan Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, (517) 673-1599

1/11/2009

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Department of Military & Veterans Affairs (DMVA) and the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University have teamed up to launch the first of four new courses in homeland defense and security for Michigan National Guard and other military or public safety personnel. The certificate program has been adapted from the curriculum developed for National Guard personnel by the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security in Monterey, California, and delivered by MSU through the national University and Agency Partnership Initiative (UAPI).

The first course - "Foundations of Homeland Defense and Security" - is part of a new Certificate in Homeland Defense and Security offered by the MSU School of Criminal Justice.

"The course is designed to provide National Guard personnel, reservists and state or local public safety personnel who would interact together in the field in response to either terrorist attacks or major natural disasters with a comprehensive introduction to the major issues essential for understanding homeland defense and security at both the theoretical and practical levels," said Dr. Phil Schertzing, an instructor in the MSU School of Criminal Justice.

The first class begins January 11 with an overview of the homeland defense and security system and its historical evolution in relationship to the established, all-hazards emergency management system. The 15-week class also will explore the fundamentals of terrorism and the threat; homeland defense and security policies and organizations; legal and jurisdictional issues; and other related topics.

Other courses in the series include: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Homeland Defense and Security; Strategic Planning and Organizational Imperatives in Homeland Defense and Security; and Special Topics in Homeland Defense and Security.

All courses in this new certificate program are offered as "hybrid" courses, with traditional, instructor-led classroom sessions on drill weekends at the new DMVA Reserve Forces Support Center in Lansing, supplemented by online activities between classes using MSU's ANGEL Learning Management System.

Participants can apply class credits toward a degree program at MSU or at another institution, or toward a Certificate in Homeland Defense and Security offered by the MSU School of Criminal Justice.

A leader in criminal justice scholarship since 1935, MSU seeks to advance knowledge and transform lives. The School of Criminal Justice is a leader in criminal justice scholarship, integrating security and public safety issues with an understanding of the legal system.