Ball State will receive a $2.5 million grant from the federal government to improve the communication skills of the nation's 911 dispatchers and other emergency public communications personnel.

During the next three years, Ball State will develop a comprehensive program to broaden the scope of public communications training to improve awareness, performance, management and planning skills of essential communication personnel, including 911 dispatchers, on-scene incident commanders and public information officers. 

"After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina striking the Gulf Coast two years ago, the federal and state governments learned there was a major need to upgrade the communication skills of our first responders," said project coordinator Thad Godish, a Ball State natural resources and environmental management professor.

"Many 911 dispatchers have a need to update or improve their skills in communicating with the public when major emergency incidents occur as well as handling a variety of quickly changing scenarios," he said.

The project's focus to enhance the skills of emergency communications personnel will tap into the expertise of Ball State faculty in the areas of communications, digital production and emergency management, Godish said.

Ball State's team of faculty and staff is expected to begin working on the project by the end of 2007, and will first create a communications DVD that will be distributed to about 3,000 911 dispatch offices for independent study awareness training. A seven- to eight-hour electronic independent study module also will be used in conjunction with on-site, hands-on training activities utilizing tabletop exercises and other techniques.

"We applied for the grant because we believed our faculty have the best skills to accomplish the project," said Godish, who is a member of the higher education advisory board for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. "I've been working on emergency management issues for many years and several professors in telecommunications and public relations have strong backgrounds in communications and developing online and digital training systems."

Members of Ball State's project team include:

• Robert Pritchard, a journalism professor and retired Navy officer who specialized in public relations, will be the primary instructor for classroom training at state, regional and national levels.
• Robert Yadon, an information and communication sciences professor and director of the Applied Research Institute, will oversee media content development.
• Nancy Carlson, a telecommunications professor, will oversee media-based course development and production.
• Greg Siering, faculty development coordinator for Ball State's Office of Teaching and Learning, will serves as an instructional design and assessment consultant.
• Phil Bremen, a telecommunications instructor, will serve as a news-media consultant.

The team also includes William Gosnell, emergency management director for Delaware County, who will provide perspective to the team based on his real-world, day-to-day experiences.

The grant is from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is part of the Competitive Training Grant Program (CTGP).

The CTGP awards funds to competitively selected applicants to develop and deliver innovative training programs addressing high priority national homeland security needs.  The program provides funds to support training initiatives that are national in scope and responds to incidents of terrorism and catastrophic events.