EMI Course Catalog - Emergency Management Institute - Federal ...

EMI History
EmErgEncy managEmEnt InstItutE • 2011-2012 • catalog of coursEs
The Emergency Management Institute started as the Civil Defense Staff College (CDSC) in Olney,
Maryland, on April 1, 1951, and taught civil defense courses in program administration and finance,
radiation monitoring and control, and heavy rescue. Due to concerns during the Cold War the
CDSC’s parent organization, the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA), under Administrator
Val Peterson, saw the Presidential Order to move the FCDA and the CDSC to Battle Creek, Michigan,
to remove them from the increasing Cold War threat of Washington, DC, being attacked.
The CDSC continued teaching courses in program administration and finance, civil defense operations,
and radiological monitoring among others, to State and local personnel, but by 1979, some
new courses had been created on natural disaster operations. By this point in time, the FCDA came
under the Department of Defense and was re-titled the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (DCPA).
In 1979, then President Jimmy Carter brought together a number of Federal agencies that had
involvement in disasters, including DCPA, and created a new, amalgamated organization, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Also in 1979, President Carter dedicated the former St.
Joseph’s College, which closed with its merger of participants and faculty with Mount Saint Mary’s
University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, as the FEMA National Emergency Training Center (NETC).
NETC then became the home for the National Fire Academy (NFA) and the re-named Staff College
which become the Emergency Management Institute (EMI), to reflect its now broader training role.
The move from Battle Creek, Michigan, to Emmitsburg was done in the Fall of 1980 and the first
EMI class was conducted in January 1981.
EMI and NFA are managed independently with unique participant audiences and curricula for the
emergency management and national fire communities. EMI and NFA have collaborated on curricula
and programs since their inception, and share in the cost of operation of NETC.
In 2011, EMI celebrated its 60th Anniversary and Legacy of Emergency Management Training and
Education for the Nation.
Present Day
Today EMI is accomplishing its mission of improving the competencies of United States officials at
all levels of government to prevent, prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the potential
effects of disasters and emergencies. EMI promotes integrated emergency management principles
and practices through application of the National Response Framework (NRF), National Incident
Management System (NIMS), and an all-hazards approach. EMI is the lead national emergency
management training, exercising, and education institution.
EMI offers a full-spectrum emergency management curriculum with more than 500 courses available
to the integrated emergency management community, which includes: FEMA staff and disaster
employees; Federal partners; State, Tribal, and local emergency managers; volunteer organizations;
and first responders from across the Nation. EMI supports international emergency management
with more than 50 countries participating in EMI’s training and educational activities through the
years, both in residence and through internationally deployed training teams.
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FEdErAL EmErgENCy mANAgEmENT AgENCy
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