Photo courtesy of Creative Commons
Adrian Suarez Avila/ News Director
Ruben D. Almaguer has been present to help in disasters that have taken place locally, nationally and internationally.
As the assistant vice president of the Department of Emergency Management and the executive director for the Academy for International Disaster Preparedness, Almaguer has helped pave the way for a new master’s degree program in disaster management, which is expected to open in August of this year.
Having arrived at the University with a background in the fire service as a paramedic firefighter, Almaguer has also had experience working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance aiding in international rescue efforts.
According to Almaguer, working with FEMA and the U.S. OFDA allowed him to develop a passion working with relief efforts for disasters in order to coordinate rescue teams, among other responsibilities.
He cited that the realization that he could make an impact not just locally but internationally made his heart change and made him want to pursue other opportunities with helping communities following disastrous events.
Despite this desire to continue learning, he realized that educational opportunities in disaster management were few and far in-between.
He realized that there was no formal education in the profession, that knowledge of the field was developed mainly, and almost exclusively, through hands-on experience in the fields of law enforcement, fire rescue, and medicine.
Over a year ago, following conversation with University officials, Almaguer was able to establish the Academy of International Disaster Preparedness under the School for International and Public Affairs.
Douglas Wartzok, the University’s former provost, provided the approval for Almaguer’s proposal for the master’s program.
Wartzok’s approval, however, was just the first step.
The master’s degree also needed the approval of the University’s Board of Trustees, which provided the green light for the program during its last meeting in January, according to Almaguer.
The program proposal is now under the examination of the Florida Board of Governors, whose office staff will be charged with deciding whether or not the program will be approved.
Almaguer doesn’t doubt that the degree program will be accepted.
Although the Academy established by Almaguer will, for the present moment, only feature the master’s degree in disaster management, Almaguer hopes to add a graduate certificate in disaster management in the future.
If both the master’s degree and certificate programs prove to be successful, then Almaguer will look into perhaps establishing an undergraduate degree in the discipline.
Almaguer says that according to surveys and research conducted by his department, the upcoming master’s degree program seems to be ideal for working professionals who wish to add a graduate degree to their set of qualifications.
Among the ideal candidates that Almaguer cited were emergency managers, members of public health organizations and non-governmental organizations, law enforcement officers and firefighters.
The program, which is set to open in late August, will be organized as a 12-month, 30-credit program in the Modesto A. Maidique Campus.
It will be divided into five 8-week mini terms throughout an entire year, and classes will only take place on Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The degree’s cost is currently set at $24,995, a figure that includes tuition, books, parking, and covers all other University fees.
Almaguer admitted that several degrees offered by the University are worth over $30,000.
He added that since people in this field will not likely be wealthy as public servants, he and his team members wanted to keep the degree cost reasonable.
He anticipates the program to be around 25-people strong.
The curriculum includes courses in vulnerability analysis and hazard mitigation, disaster response and recovery and disaster field operations. Almaguer said that, with time and through students’ suggestions, he and members of his department hope to add more courses to the curriculum.
According to Almaguer, while there are other master’s degrees of its kind around the country, he knows of none in the state that provide the specific focus that the University’s will provide in the fall.
He added that two other Florida universities provide similar programs, but only as specializations within another discipline.
Almaguer cited the University of South Florida as having a master’s degree in public health with a specialization in disaster management, and Florida State University a graduate degree in public administration with an emergency management track.
He expects that the design of the degree program will attract candidates from Dade, Broward and Monroe counties. He sees, perhaps, the possibility of hosting the program online partially or in the classroom in other countries as demand increases in the future.
Students shared their thoughts on the program.
“FIU is really stepping it up,” said James Fairfield, a freshman majoring in sociology. “Although I’m not interested in the program, it seems like it will do a lot to help prepare people who actually are interested in working to help people deal with disasters.”
“Disasters have happened, happen, and will continue to happen,” Almaguer said. He added that, as such, it’s important to fill the need for formal education in the field of disaster management.
A key factor of the program that he wishes to emphasize is the quality of the faculty members who will teach the courses in the curriculum. According to Almaguer, the professors are trained professionals with actual field experience.
“[Disaster management] is one of those fields that we really want to get, not just the great faculty here, but augment [the curriculum] by bringing people in who have the experience hands-on.”
The final course of the program will function similar to a capstone project, where field-based training will provide the opportunity for students to apply what they learned throughout the curriculum.
Among the things that Almaguer wants students to learn is how to work around helicopters, set up field latrines, conduct field assessments, go over hostage negotiations and work with satellite equipment by setting up a base of operations.
Once approved by the Board of Governors, the application for the program will go live.
Students interested will just need to complete the standard graduate-school application for the University and submit a resume.
“It’s such a specialized field that we’re actually looking for anybody who’s got a heart to better prepare the community for disasters,” Almaguer said.
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