February 11, 1998 Special Presentation

by Dr. George Buck
St. Petersburg Junior College

Online Emergency Management Curriculum

SUMMARY

EIIP Virtual Classroom Online Presentation
February 11, 1998 - 12:00 Noon EST

Online Emergency Management Curriculum

Dr. George Buck, Director/Professor
Institute of Emergency Administration & Fire Science
St. Petersburg Junior College - St. Petersburg, Florida

EIIP Virtual Library Moderator/Interviewer - Amy Sebring

The EIIP Virtual Classroom hosted Dr. George Buck, Director/Professor, Institute of Emergency Administration & Fire Science, St. Petersburg Junior College (SPJC) of St. Petersburg, Florida. Dr. Buck was interviewed about the SPJC online Emergency Administration and Management Associate of Science degree program currently offered at his institution. The interview, conducted by Amy Sebring, covered a broad scope of questions including Dr. Buck's personal experiences with online students, pros and cons of distance learning, and the school's plans for expanding the online curriculum to a Bachelor of Science degree program in the near future.

Lessons Learned:
The Virtual Classroom attracted 24 participants for the second in a series of discussions on distance learning. Some participants had problems logging in and remaining online as indicated by the system administrative software. However, the pattern indicates the same people are still having firewall problems that must be overcome within their own facilities or companies.

DR. GEORGE BUCK

Dr. George W. Buck has been involved in the fire service and emergency management for the past 20 years. He is presently with St. Petersburg Jr. College as Director/Professor of the Institute of Emergency Administration and Fire Science. George has served as a Fire Management Specialist with the US Fire Administration in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Previously, he served more than fourteen years with Addison, Texas Fire Department in the Operations
Division.

George also serves as the emergency management liaison to the International Association of Fire Chiefs with responsible for interaction with other national and international associations relating to emergency management issues. He is a Principal member of Technical Committee "Disaster Management, NFPA 1600 and has been in the committee since 1992. He has spoken at many national and international conferences. George has also published many manuscripts, white papers, etc., both nationally and internationally. George is also the author of "Preparing for Terrorism, an emergency services guide."

George's formal education consists of, Associate of Science in Fire Science, Bachelor of Science in Emergency Administration and Planning, from the University of North Texas, along with Masters and Doctorate in Public Administration.

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