East Tennessee State University’s Geoinformatics and Disaster Science Lab, a group that helps colleges across the nation better plan for extreme weather events, has already received national attention. Last year, FEMA recognized the lab in its exclusive Mitigation Planning Success Stories series, a prestigious honor that only a handful of organizations and jurisdictions across the country receive.
“It means,” said Dr. Andrew Joyner, an associate professor in the Department of Geosciences, “that our lab and our hazard mitigation plan are incredibly innovative and efficient.”
Now, ETSU has received a $280,000 FEMA grant aimed at making sure the campus is equipped
with strong plans in the event of an environmental disaster.
“We are so thrilled to receive this grant,” said Joyner. “We are one of only two universities
in the state of Tennessee with an active hazard mitigation plan, which allows us to
apply for these types of resilience-focused grants.”
Thanks to the grant, Joyner has a range of goals.
That includes some campus-specific plans for drought and temperature issues, as well
as working with Facilities Management on thorough building assessments and improved
drone imagery. Joyner, too, hopes to partner with emergency management officials on
increased awareness of specific natural hazards for the campus community.
Eventually he hopes to build a new database for all campus infrastructure.
“It is a great honor for ETSU to receive this grant, and we believe we can help make
the campus an even safer place because of it,” Joyner said.