Potomac State’s Criminal Justice Professor Andrea Bucklew
Named to State Homeland Security Academic Coalition
By Jesse Hedrick
Contemporary concerns have pushed the issue of security to the forefront of public concern and created the need for new groups and programs, the latest of which is the Homeland Security Academic Coalition. The Coalition is comprised of professors and administrators from various colleges and universities around the state including Potomac State College of West Virginia University (WVU), WVU, Marshall University, and West Virginia State University, among others.
Potomac State College (PSC) Criminal Justice Professor Andrea Bucklew was selected to serve on the Coalition, the purpose of which is to provide a basis for cooperation among West Virginia’s academic institutions, business organizations, and government agencies in developing homeland security projects. PSC Provost Kerry Odell nominated Bucklew for service on the Coalition after being contacted by the research program coordinator for WVU, Floyd Russell.
Currently, the Coalition is working on two projects. Bucklew explains, "It’s projected that if Baltimore and DC were hit (by an attack) that people would migrate east into West Virginia." With that in mind, the first project is to create a plan to prepare West Virginia, and particularly the Eastern Panhandle, for an emergency mass migration from the major metropolitan areas of DC and Baltimore.
The second project being addressed by Bucklew and the Coalition is to collaborate and provide homeland security education and training to members of the public. This will include first responders, medical and hospital staff, government officials, and anyone wanting more knowledge of what to do should a homeland security risk arise. The Coalition will be developing a list of minimum core competencies and then determining which courses will be needed to meet these competencies. By collaborating it is hoped that each participating institution will be able to provide one or two of the needed courses.
"So many universities are working together so the burden doesn't fall on one school," says Bucklew. "This is a rare opportunity for the academic institutions within the state to work together for the protection and benefit of all West Virginians. Rather than seeing ourselves as competitors, we realize that we all have the responsibility to serve the citizens of the entire state. By working together we believe that we can better fulfill that responsibility."
Bucklew earned her B.S. and J.D. degrees from WVU. Before coming to PSC, Bucklew worked as an attorney in private practice and as an assistant prosecutor. She is currently completing her sixth year at PSC.
