During a visit to Drexel University, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced the seven colleges and universities competitively selected to participate in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Campus Resilience Pilot Program (CR Pilot). According to a DHS news release,  “DHS will work with the seven selected colleges and universities to draw on existing resources, collaborate with federal, state, and local stakeholders, and identify new innovative approaches to promote campus resilience—directly supporting the goals of the President’s Plan to Reduce Gun Violence, and making educational institutions safer and more prepared.”  

 During her visit, Secretary Napolitano said, “This is an important step in our work with the academic community to help campuses prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate crisis and emergency situations.” She continued, “Through their work with DHS, these colleges and universities will help us further develop best practices, resources, and tools needed to assist campus communities nationwide in their efforts to reduce gun violence on campuses and bolster resilience and emergency planning processes for all types of hazards.”

The DHS news release stated that, “The CR Pilot will emphasize the importance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) ‘whole community’ approach to planning and resilience efforts, and will highlight the needs of various student populations. The selected colleges and universities will help develop and pilot an emergency preparedness and resilience planning program that builds from each campus’ ongoing efforts and facilitated by community engagement, local stakeholders, campus leadership, and students.”

 The CR Pilot was created upon recommendation from the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council (HSAAC).  HSAAC is comprised of prominent university presidents and academic leaders. It is “charged with advising the secretary and senior leadership at the department on matters related to homeland security and the academic community, including campus resilience.”  

 According to the DHS news release, the “CR Pilot is a joint initiative of and is supported by DHS’ FEMA, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Student and Exchange Visitor Program, and the Office of Academic Engagement.”

 Colleges and universities selected for the CR Pilot are:

 •Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 •Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, Connecticut

 •Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington

 •Navajo Technical College, Crownpoint, New Mexico

 •Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

 •Tougaloo College, Jackson, Mississippi

 •University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California