The Massachusetts Maritime Academy Announces Critical Milestone in Emergency Management Initiative With Strategic Support From Hillard Heintze

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy announced the formal completion of a rigorous assessment of the risks, threats and vulnerabilities confronting the Academy's students, teachers and staff as well as its mission, assets and operations.  

Commissioned in November 2009, the wide-ranging study was designed and delivered by Hillard Heintze, a Chicago-based firm nationally recognized as a leader in strategic security planning, emergency preparedness and the prevention of violence in academic and workplace settings.  

The assessment – supported by formal risk analysis, a quantitatively-derived ranking of the most important threats confronting the Academy and a special focus on preventing violence on campus – represents an important phase in the school's steady progress toward meeting the requirements of an Emergency Management for Higher Education (EMHE) grant it received in 2009 from the U.S. Department of Education.

"Prevention and readiness are essential," said Rear Admiral Richard Gurnon, USMS, the school's president.  "In fact, we believe that emergency management – and preparing all of our stakeholders, both at the Academy and across the third party organizations we might rely upon in a crisis to 'take the right actions' when 'things go wrong' – is a core component not just of our mission to graduate men and women ready to serve the maritime industry or other important sectors in our economy but also of the Academy's role in supporting national defense."

The study's detailed recommendations form an important base of planning that will be used by the Academy's emergency management task force to support the development of an Emergency Management Plan for the school.  

Arnette Heintze, co-founder and CEO of Hillard Heintze, is a major supporter of the initiative.  "We stand behind MMA – one hundred percent," he says.  "This school was selected by the Department of Education as one of the few select institutions drawn from across the United States to receive funding from its EMHE grant program.  That alone, in our eyes, says a lot about the Department's expectations of the Academy on a national level as well as what the Academy is now positioned to achieve at the very forefront of emergency preparedness among our nation's schools. We're proud to have been trusted to deliver this assignment."

In addition to the MMA, other recipients in the 2009 round of Department of Education EMHE grants include Stanford University, Georgetown University, The Catholic University of America, Miami Dade College, University of Central Florida, University of Idaho, Illinois Community College District #515, Johnson County Community College, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Eastern Michigan University, Missouri State University, The University of Montana, Seton Hall University, John Jay College, Niagara University, North Dakota State University, Southern Oregon University, University of Oregon, Western Oregon University, Community College of Allegheny County, University of Rhode Island, Texas A&M University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Peninsula College and Laramie County Community College.

About the Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Massachusetts Maritime Academy is a fully accredited, four year, co-educational state college.  Bachelor of Science degrees are awarded in Marine Engineering, Marine Transportation, Facilities, Engineering, Marine Safety and Environmental Protection, Emergency Management and International Maritime Business. The Regiment of Cadets and the Academy's unique educational style, prepares students for positions at sea and ashore as licensed professionals or skilled graduates ready to assume managerial positions.  Undergraduates travel the globe and graduates have continued to enjoy unsurpassed job placement. Students from across the nation participate in a full range of activities and athletics, as they continue to develop a pride in our tradition.  For more information, visit www.maritime.edu.

About Hillard Heintze

Hillard Heintze provides the strategic thought leadership, trusted counsel and end-to-end services that help senior executives – those responsible for the performance of leading public and private corporations as well as government agencies and major public service organizations – assess, establish and carry out best-in-class security strategies and investigations to protect and preserve the safety of their people, property, performance and reputation.  Formed in 2004, the firm today is considered by many of its clients, its professional peers and its competitors to be one of the leading private strategic security advisory and management companies in the United States.  With global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, Hillard Heintze has operations in Washington, DC, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Pittsburgh, Raleigh and Miami, as well as operating capabilities in the Middle East and both South and Central America.  In August 2009, Hillard Heintze was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of America's fastest growing private companies.  The magazine ranked Hillard Heintze No. 242 on the 2009 Inc. 500 list.  For more information, visit www.hillardheintze.com.

SOURCE Massachusetts Maritime Academy