Daytona State receives grant for emergency preparedness

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (Aug. 11, 2008) - U.S. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, recently announced the award of $5.2 million for 13 new grants to colleges and universities. Daytona State College received the highest award of $501,060 to develop and implement emergency management plans to ensure the safety of the entire campus community. Daytona State is the only college in Florida to receive this grant award.

Funded for the first time in 2008, Emergency Management for Higher Education grants fund activities within the four phases of emergency management - prevention-mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery - to prepare for the whole range of threats that can impact a campus, including, but not limited to: natural disasters, terrorist attacks, campus violence, suicides, and infectious disease outbreaks.

"The grant provides us with the additional resources needed to augment our current practices with our team of dedicated campus safety officers," commented Bill Tillard, Director of Campus Safety at Daytona State. "We look forward to partnering with area emergency response services to coordinate mock disaster drills to enhance training in this area - something that would not be possible without grant assistance."

Funding for the EMHE grants is made available through the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools and the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Glyn Johnston, Public Information Officer - Marketing & Communications, (386) 506-4499, johnstg@DaytonaState.edu

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