Outline terminology relevant to the field of disaster resilience leadership (DRL) as it pertains to human and social factors; Understand and apply relevant global, national and state policies and legislation in the field of disaster resilience; Discuss critically the ethical considerations in disaster work (social justice, human dignity, anti-oppressive); Describe, explain and apply human and social theories for DRL (Eco-systemic; structural functionalism, social capital, conservation of resources and progression of vulnerability); Discuss critically the disaster recovery process of the individual exposed to disasters as a life event from a multi-dimensional approach; Evaluate the dynamics within the family/household affected by disasters and disaster recovery; Define and outline building disaster-resilient communities; Outline and explain the role of the media and social media in DRL; Plan intervention programs within the context of the disaster management cycle; Plan disaster-related crisis and stress management programs that promote resilience; Identify the psychosocial needs of specific populations (vulnerable populations, e.g. children, the aged, animal owners, people with disabilities, poorest of the poor, HIV/AIDS, etc.); Understand and explain disaster research.

Course will provide future disaster resilience leaders with a humanistic framework for understanding the cultural dynamics of forced migration and its connection to contemporary processes of global social transformation, the proliferation of transnational communities, and emergent conceptual spaces of identity formation during exile.

The Vulnerable Populations course will provide future disaster resilience leaders with a fundamental understanding of the social constructions of human vulnerability to disasters, conceptualizing populations at risk in a disaster framework and review of best practices in vulnerability reduction through capacity-building. The course offers a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary exploration of culturally sensitive strategies responsive to the needs of vulnerable populations, a comprehensive approach to engaging communities through the use of vulnerability and capacity assessment (VCA), and the social, political, economic, and cultural inequalities that represent intersecting vulnerabilities. The study of vulnerable populations will incorporate a humanistic perspective, investigating the role of cultural competence and the need for a participatory multi-stakeholder approach in community-based disaster risk reduction and sustainable development.

This course examines the critical role that women play in strengthening community resilience to multiple disasters, the importance of women's knowledge and experience in the formulation of comprehensive adaptive strategies, and the need for their inclusion in disaster risk reduction and sustainable development planning. The course offers a cross-cultural exploration of the unique needs of women throughout the complete life-cycle of a disaster event and the advantages gained from female participation in disaster preparedness and response. The interdisciplinary study of disasters and their effects on women will investigate gender-bias in disaster practices, the cultural and organizational vulnerability of women, familial disruption and hazard perception, post-disaster domestic and sexual violence against women, and the plight of female refugees.

Disaster Operations is an advanced professional level examination of modern emergency management concepts, national and international trends, practical and political issues and policies, technological applications to emergency management, and the development and practical implementation of sound emergency management practices designed to protect people, communities, critical infrastructure and key assets. Included will be a brief review of the history of emergency management, legal issues, social science perspectives, planning concepts and techniques, disaster modeling, operational problems, analytical methods, special populations, and management styles. Case studies will be examined and discussed to determine the extent of effective or ineffective planning, responding, and recovering from natural and technological disasters.

This course will review the most recent trends in resilience and recovery efforts as it relates to natural disasters and catastrophic events.

This course provides an introduction to economic recovery and resilience in relation to natural and technological hazards. It particularly focuses on issues facing small businesses, community and regional planners, and non-profit advocates in preparing for and recovering from disasters. It also analyzes issues of justice in relation to economic shock. The economic recovery of areas affected by natural and technological disasters is critical to the overall recovery of regions. The return of industries plays an integral part in the production of capital and other resources required by local residents to pursue their own personal recovery. Similarly, in cases of evacuation, the return of businesses and services provides signals to evacuees that their communities may be stable enough to return to. This course therefore explores the fundamentals of economic recovery and resilience by considering the typical impacts that disasters have on businesses, the institutional environment for economic preparation and planning, and the contemporary philosophies and practices of economic resilience.

Introduces students to quantitative data principles, methods, and applications relevant to disaster resilience practice and research. It emphasizes the practical application of data to assess quality of evidence and contribute to knowledge through systematic inquiry, including comprehension of data collection and research methods relevant to disaster resilience data creation. Understanding the scope and application of data in disasters is stressed. Methods in statistics and epidemiology are foundational. The one-credit lab section builds on the lecture, introducing skills in computation for data processing and interpretation.

This course is designed to provide the student with the ability to read, research, write, and discuss the tenants of effective leadership and leading during crisis and disaster. This course will enable the student to learn about this critical pillar of effective disaster and crisis response leadership through literature review, dynamic seminar discussions, written expression, and subject matter expert lecture experiences,. It will begin through the introduction of the concepts of effective leadership including principles, traits, and universal concepts then transition into a more in-depth review of leading through organizational change, common leadership pitfalls to avoid, creating visionary leadership, and will culminate with a focus on leadership amidst crisis. From this, the student will be able to discuss and write about effective leadership in the design of their own leadership philosophy in their individual pursuit in disaster resilience leadership.

To understand and evaluate: the risks that natural and technological disasters pose to the human environment, the ways that land use, resource use, and environmental policy affect the risks posed by natural and technological disasters, the ways in which the natural environment functions as a “public good,” providing a range of “services”—including protection from disaster-based harms—for human and non-human populations, the ways in which the built environment functions as a “public good,” providing a range of “services”—including protection from disaster-based harms—for human and non-human populations, the ways that climate change impacts affect disaster risk and how actors in the public and private sectors are seeking to reduce climate-change-based risks; To understand in general terms the history of the environmental movement, the development of modern environmental policy, and the development of modern disaster risk-reduction policy in the United States, how social vulnerability (based on factors related to wealth, race, age, sex, disability, education level, etc.) affects a community’s disaster risk in an environmental setting, and the ways that actors in the public and private sectors are addressing or might address the special risks posed by social vulnerability.

The course is an advanced professional-level examination of the fields of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and ongoing efforts both domestically and internationally to integrate these two hazard mitigation efforts. Class presentations and discussions will examine the various issues relevant to the design and implementation of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction plans and actions including costs, benefits, legal issues, impact on development, environmental links and concerns, as well as governance issues. Students will analyze the assessment of climate-related risk and the design methods and technological tools used to develop and implement climate and hazard risk reduction plans and actions. The role and leadership of stakeholders from the public and private sectors will be closely examined. Case studies will be introduced to generate examination of and discussions on the ways climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction actions have been successfully implemented and how local, regional and national governments are working to integrate these two activities.

This course will dive into recent disasters as the backdrop to explore how theories of leadership ring true or are challenged in practice. Students will be invited to recognize that leaders in the disaster space must be students of people - their needs, motivations, and expectations. Students will have the opportunity to hear from a number of seasoned leaders who will speak to experiences navigating policy, power dynamics and personalities. The course will conclude with the opportunity for students to identify traits and behaviors of leaders to be emulated and to craft those into a personal development roadmap for use in their careers as leaders in the disaster space.

"The course offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the ways in which disasters disproportionately affect different communities across the US and internationally. Why are some individuals or communities more vulnerable than others? The course will use the feminist sociological theory of “intersectionality” an underlying theory and mode of looking at the multiple identifies that affect one’s ability to prepare, respond or recover from disasters. We will look at what role issues of race, ethnicity, gender/gender identity, class, age, dis/ability, sexual orientation and other social categories play in disaster resilience and management. The overall objective of this course is to gain a holistic understanding of the unnatural phenomenon of environmental disasters, including the social construction of disasters, environmental justice, disaster capitalism, normalization of deviance, Black Swan theory, individual blame logic and contaminated communities. Case studies - of local, national and international disasters - will be used to illustrate the principles involved. The course will combine theory with practical approaches to the issue, drawing on resources from different disciplines with a particular focus on the fields of sociology, social work, environmental and social justice, disaster management, community psychology, health, cross-cultural studies and urban planning. "

This course will provide future disaster resilience leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop a competitive grant proposal to secure external funding from government agencies, corporations, and private foundations. Understanding the fundamental components of a grant proposal, as well as gaining familiarity with the current funding environment, and managing a successful program grant to completion will be examined. The course presents a brief overview of philanthropy while identifying potential funders, exploring how the generic structure of proposals varies according to sociocultural and institutional settings and understanding the linkages between proposal development and program implementation.

Evaluation is the key organizational tool for both accountability to affected people and those providing the funding as well as learning from individual responses to improve performance. This is a practical skills based course that will build a student’s capacity to conduct, manage, and use the results of evaluations (impacts and process evaluation methods) in emergency response and humanitarian action.

This course aims to provide students with the tools needed to understand and critically appraise resilience implementation within an environment of change through the principles of disaster resilience and evidence-based practice application. Students are expected to apply the knowledge gained through this course to promote disaster resilience. Through the educational activities presented in this course, students will acquire academic knowledge and relevant applied skills. The institute theme and topics covered vary per semester. Please consult with the program for course delivery modes.

Topics will vary.

Topics will vary.

Topics will vary.

Topics will vary.

Topics will vary.

Topics will vary.

This course explores the relationship between environmental sustainability and disaster resilience. The terms “sustainability” and “resilience” are often [incorrectly] used interchangeably and each have numerous definitions depending on context. According to Cutter,1 “Sustainability is the potential to maintain the long term well-being of communities based on social, economic, and environmental requirements of present and future generations. It stresses the interdependencies of environmental protection, human needs, and societal well-being, acknowledging the primary goal of improving the human condition without harming the environment.” In this course, we will discuss a range of topics—from water to energy to food to climate change—and the challenges and pathways to sustainable practices and how these can support or limit disaster resilience. We will pay special attention to the ways environment and equity are intertwined. Students will gain knowledge about sustainable systems and applying these concepts to disaster planning, management, and recovery.

The purpose of the course is to focus on the short and long-term reality of the environmental disaster facing the South Louisiana Coastal in the physical area between the mouth of the Mississippi and the Atchafalaya basin outlet. Using the tools of implementation science we will collectively segment and organize evidence to understand and chart a path to resilience for the different local populations directly impacted. Multiple pedagogical approaches including lectures, field trips, readings, interviews with local residents and outside speakers will be utilized to render the scope of the experience as inclusive as possible. The course focuses on building analytical skills and methodological tools for understanding and increasing the rate of implementation of resilience strategies for effected communities. Specific skills of implementation science will be taught which when combined with contextual knowledge of the training site will lead to the competency of being able to execute and prepare and implement a plan for assisting communities in becoming rapidly more prepared and more resilient to environmental threats. The subject will be the long term disaster of coastal degradation and global warming on the Louisiana gulf coast.

Planning for Continuity of Operations (COOP) is an introductory course designed to provide students with a foundation in continuity planning. Continuity planning is an important part of the emergency management process and of resilience. Without COOP the resilience of an organization (whether it be a small non-profit, a corporation, a city, etc.) is diminished. Furthermore, the recovery phase of emergency management is not as seamless as it could be, which can cause significant delays and setbacks in returning to business as usual. This interactive online course will cover the foundations of continuity of operations planning cycle from the business impact analysis through exercising the COOP; additionally, students will learn about the importance of COOP, where COOP fits into emergency management, and how to engage stakeholders. Course work shall include case studies, independent research, discussion board posts, group work, and presentations.

Independent Study courses gives graduate students an opportunity to work with a faculty advisor to pursue a personal academic interest with greater focus. Permission must be given by the DRLA Director to sign up for an Independent Study. Qualified students must develop a syllabus and schedule with the faculty advisor that is approved by the program Director prior to registration.

Transfer Credit - Graduate Level. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.