A-State's Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management Program

08/20/2025

Go like our new FB page!

08/15/2025

After some big organizational changes, we have a new department name and new page! Follow us at Department of Health Sciences & Risk Management to keep up with us and our new programs!

The life of a new department....coming soon.

08/05/2025

Helping out your community during disaster, how bout DAT?! Our Disaster Action Team (DAT) responds to disasters like home fires, floods and tornadoes. This training gives you the knowledge and tools to respond to local disasters and provide immediate assistance to those affected... All in one day!

Our next DAT in a Day training is happening this Saturday, August 9th in Little Rock and Jonesboro. See flyer for dates and times!

To register or for more info, please contact:
📬 Little Rock- jim.powell6@redcross.org

📬Jonesboro- temirra.jones@redcross.org

05/12/2025

Enjoy your summer break! For those taking summer classes, we'll see you May 27th! ☀️🕶️⛱️

05/10/2025

Join us in congratulating our spring 2025 graduates as they walk across the stage today at commencement. 🎓

05/09/2025

Help us congratulate Wyatt Reed on obtaining his Bachelor of Science in DPEM! 🎉After graduation, he looks forward to using the knowledge he has learned in the academic program in his role as an Emergency Manager for the A-Stare Office of Emergency Management. He looks forward to continuing his education in the Master's in DPEM and also Business Administration. The thing he most enjoyed about the program is learning from some of the kindest and most intelligent professors in our profession.

📖 His favorite quote: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Help us congratulate Wyatt on his accomplishments! 🎓

05/08/2025

Jessica Fanion is excited to graduate with a Master of Science in Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management! 🎓 🎉

Jessica says "In my role as the Cities Readiness Initiative Manager at the Shelby County Health Department, this program has helped me implement best practices that strengthen our public health emergency response every day. I value the opportunity to apply what I have learned directly to the work I am passionate about—and I am looking forward to what’s next!" 🎊

📖 Favorite quote: “ Failure is not an option.” - Gene Kranz (NASA Flight Director)

Help us congratulate Jessica on her accomplishments! 🎓🎉

05/07/2025

Congratulate Christopher Moore on graduating this Saturday with his Master of Science in Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management. 🎉🎓

After graduation, he plans to continue to work in the fire service with Bella Vista Fire-EMS. He aims to contribute to regional emergency response initiatives and assist in improving community resilience through policy development and interagency coordination.

Comment below to congratulate Chris on his accomplishment! 🎓

05/06/2025

Joann Sands is graduating with her Master of Science in DPEM this weekend. 🎓With over 20 years of service as a volunteer firefighter and EMT, Joann Sands, DNP, RN, ANP-BC, celebrates a new milestone with the completion of the Master of Science in Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management. As a dedicated nursing professor and nurse practitioner with a deep passion for emergency response, Joann is committed to merging her extensive clinical experience with higher education to create a meaningful impact on both the academic and frontline response communities. Joann looks forward to continuing her collaboration with the West Seneca Office of Emergency Management and hopes to expand her impact as a consultant to strengthen emergency preparedness and response efforts across communities.

Help us congratulate Joann on her accomplishment! 🎓🎉🐺

05/05/2025

We want to wish you good luck as you enter finals week! Remember to take care of yourself and do things that make you happy when you are able. 🌷🧘🏽‍♀️☀️🏃🏾📖🏌🏻‍♂️

04/28/2025

Reminder: Apply by 05/02/25 to start summer term 1 on 05/27/2025

04/21/2025

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our friend and colleague Dr. Deborah Persell, founder of the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management program. She is survived by her husband Dave Persell, two children, and four grandchildren. Dr. Persell came to Arkansas State University in 2001 where her teaching expertise focused on pediatric nursing. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, she identified a need for emergency management education in the state of Arkansas and the NEA region. This led to the establishment of the Multidisciplinary Minor in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in 2006 and in 2011 she founded the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management program which included the Associate of Applied Science in DPEM, the Bachelor of Science in DPEM, and the Master of Science in DPEM. For those who personally knew Dr. Persell, she was kind, a genuine person, and unwavering when it came to her vision and goals. She fearlessly paved the way for emergency management education in the state of Arkansas and changed the landscape of healthcare emergency management in the NEA region. She was a scholar at heart and cared deeply for the DPEM program and its students. She touched many lives during her time at Arkansas State University. While she will be greatly missed, her legacy lives on in our faculty, staff, students, and the spirit of our program. Our condolences go out to her family and friends.

Her celebration of life will be on Saturday, May 10th at First Baptist Church in Milton, Florida. Read the official A-State announcement of her passing here: https://www.astate.edu/news/sympathy-to-the-family-and-former-colleagues-of-deborah-persell-emeritus-professor