Community Colleges Seek Homeland Security Education
WASHINGTON
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has announced the appointment of a 21-member task force to craft a long-range strategy for developing homeland security education and training programs for the nation's 1,173 two-year colleges. The AACC Ad Hoc Task Force on Homeland Security is comprised of 18 community-college presidents and three specialists at schools with expertise in defense and security.
AACC officials say community colleges educate the majority of the nation's first-responders, with more than half of new nurses and nearly 85 percent of law enforcement officers, firefighters and EMTs credentialed by two-year colleges.
The task force is preparing this month in Washington to coordinate homeland security efforts already under way at community colleges around the nation. The group will draw on the expertise of the newly created Homeland Security and Public Safety Network, made up of community-college faculty/staff specialists nationwide.
"Because of their numbers and their close collaboration at local and state levels, community colleges represent a tested resource to help the nation ramp up its security effort in the most cost-effective way," said AACC President George R. Boggs. "This new, strategic collaboration will significantly accelerate our national preparedness."
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