TSU Staffer Graduates From FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Thomas Graham recently graduated from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Emergency Management Basic Academy after completing the full curriculum that provided the basic knowledge and skills to help graduates meet the unpredictable challenges in the field of emergency management.

Thomas Graham, assistant director of Emergency Management at Tennessee State University, receives his certificate of training from Edward Smith, acting deputy superintendent at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute. Graham graduated from the Agency’s Basic Academy Dec. 18, 2014. (courtesy photo)

Graham, assistant director of Emergency Management at Tennessee State University, completed the five courses at the Academy that includes Foundations of Emergency Management; Science of Disaster; Planning: Emergency Operations; Exercise Design; and Public Information and Warning. Students are required fulfill a total of 167 hours of training. Graham completed the course Dec. 18, 2014.

Located at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md., the Academy offers students the tools to develop comprehensive foundational skills needed in emergency management. For those who are new to emergency management or for those who are transferring from another profession, the Academy also provides a unique opportunity to build camaraderie and establish professional contacts.

Students also learned to understand the roles, responsibilities and legal boundaries associated with emergency management. FEMA’s National Emergency Management Academy is the entry-point for individuals pursuing a career in emergency management. It’s the first phase of FEMA’s new Emergency Management Professional Program (EMPP).

The goal of the Basic Academy is to support the early careers of emergency managers through a training experience combining knowledge of all fundamental systems, concepts and practices of cutting-edge emergency management.

In July 2014, Graham was instrumental in helping the University obtain the StormReady designation. Presented by the National Weather Service, the designation states TSU had met all the “rigorous criteria” for a StormReady designation by developing an all-hazard safety plan and communications infrastructure, as well as actively promoted all hazardous weather safety through public awareness activities and training.

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With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 42 undergraduate, 24 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.