MACEM&PS as Entrepreneurial Higher Education

To cut to the chase (in keeping with the old sayings), we are embracing the last one on the list. The Mid-Atlantic Center for Emergency Management & Public Safety (MACEM&PS) focuses on an adventure that broadens the service reach of a local community college to a national market, and supports revenue, image, status, academic quality, community involvement, and discipline integration. Utilizing the expertise of an academic program to deliver grant-funded outcomes and consulting contracts is a significant financial resource to the institution. While most major institutions have at least considered research as a first step into this world, along with federal and state grants, few have overcome the higher education risk-averse mindset to enter the professional services and consulting realms. 
 
The MACEM&PS has taken the entrepreneurial effort forward to an Optimal Performance Service Model. It is through this model that our learners perform best in the classroom and in the field. The integration of formal education, our student and partner base, and professional training and experience enhances the skills and mindsets of our instructors and their students. It further offers new tools; field innovations; participatory, relevant learning experiences; and exposure to today’s industry professionals from a variety of disciplines. Where we began, where we are today, and where we are headed provides evidence of solid business innovation and leadership. 
 
How did we evolve from MACEM to the MACEM&PS at Frederick Community College? 
 
Now that the perspective is established, the foundation of the MACEM&PS at Frederick Community College (FCC) in Maryland is clear. The MACEM&PS is first the academic department at a community college that provides higher education in criminal justice, emergency management, fire service administration, geographic information systems, national security and intelligence, legal studies, police science, and public safety disciplines. The revenue-generating efforts of the department work as supplementary elements, focused on supporting the quality and currency of higher education for public safety disciplines. It is, after all, one thing to just teach the concepts and hire expert instructors to explain how they affect the world; it’s quite another to have that industry connection alive, ongoing, and in-house.
 
The entrepreneurial path of the department began in 1999 with the opportunity to subcontract with an engineering firm supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Independent Study Program. FCC agreed to evaluate existing FEMA Independent Study courses for potential academic credit awarded by the College, and this credit conversion program is nearing its 25th year as an income stream to the College. In 2004, the College established a remote learning Associate of Applied Science Degree in Emergency Management for a national audience, enhanced by the department’s entrepreneurial reputation in the discipline. However, the pathway was often as much opportunity as design. The concept of revenue-generation born in FEMA grant opportunities led to the creation, in 2010, of the Mid-Atlantic Center for Emergency Management (MACEM). By 2012, the degree and connection to FEMA brought an award for a three-year national training effort in situational analysis for complex attacks. This successful effort was followed in 2014 and 2018 by two more three-year national training efforts in public-private partnerships and community lifelines in emergency response and recovery.  
 
With the addition of more public safety domains to emergency management in 2022, professional services to the disciplines expanded in our consulting domains, and “Public Safety” was added to our name. Then began the focused development of the revenue-generating program in both the form of grants and professional services consulting. The MACEM&PS strategic plan, developed by a global stakeholder group and implemented by dedicated academic and professional services faculty and staff, projects our work into the future. 
 
Who are we? 
 
The MACEM&PS is a true collective of academic and professional staff including full-time and adjunct faculty, higher education administrators, staff, and most importantly, a dedicated team of stakeholders. The MACEM&PS is supported by the FCC administration, which encourages the entrepreneurial effort and has overcome the risk-averse perspective of many higher education institutions, supporting the expansion and growth of the MACEM&PS. 
 
Like most academic departments, the MACEM&PS has full-time and adjunct faculty supported by program managers and staff. Additionally, the MACEM&PS has specialists in instructional design, technology, quality control, credit conversion, and grantsmanship, along with its revenue- generating professional services. The MACEM&PS takes pride in its 15-member integrated team – with both program and global focus – supporting all activities. The adjunct faculty are important stakeholders, and valuable resources, for both our academic and professional services work. The adjuncts can accept short-term grant and consulting assignments that allows the MACEM&PS to expand, and contract, like the incident command concept, allowing us to have standby personnel. 
 
What do we do? 
 
The breadth of professional services continues to expand as opportunities present themselves. The MACEM&PS currently serves FEMA, the Department of Justice, and the Naval Postgraduate School on the national level along with the Maryland Department of Emergency Management, the Maryland State Police, the Maryland State Department of Education, and the Maryland Center for School Safety at the state level. We also serve local government agencies and organizations in the private sector. The portfolio of services expanded with two contracts with the national Society of Fire Protection Engineers to provide cutting-edge content to address one of the nation’s top five hazards – wildfires. The range of products includes customized training academic programs, feasibility studies and needs assessment, policy development, program evaluation, and temporary staffing. Temporary staffing for state agencies includes graphic and web design, conference support, short-term program needs, public relations, and operational support. 
 
The rewards! 
 
The primary purpose of the professional services activities is the support of the academic program and the College, providing exposure to progressive, national content and experts as well as high demand services. While the most obvious tangible reward is additional income for the College from grants and contract services, the contribution of maintaining an extended network with discipline experts and community and political leaders enhances the reputation of the College and the MACEM&PS. This extended networking contributes to our adjunct faculty pool, our currency and experience in the disciplines, stakeholder outreach, and community support. 
 
With emerging discipline knowledge and technology, the professional services activities allow the use of funding from grants and contracts to enhance the knowledge and quality of our academic programs – for both the benefit of the student and instructor. The MACEM&PS interaction with national, regional, state, and local public sector leaders contributes to the reputation and quality recognition of the College and the Center. Finally, the MACEM&PS is better positioned to offer support and service to the College and the community because of revenue and the external recognition of the Center. The Center is active with the FEMA Higher Education Program and other associations promoting the quality of higher education. 
 
The MACEM&PS also stands ready to assist the College and other FCC departments to explore the benefits of entrepreneurial activities.