James Ramsay, Ph.D., M.A., CSP will join the faculty of UNH this summer, leading the creation of a new homeland security area of study at the university's Manchester campus.
Ramsay comes to UNH from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he served as the founding chair of the Department of Security Studies and International Affairs after creating the program in 2006.
Ramsay is widely recognized as one of the nation’s foremost authorities on homeland security education, with expertise in a wide range of health, emergency management planning and evaluation issues, as well as occupational safety and environmental health. His research areas of interest focus on the relationship between environmental and human security, resilience, and national security strategic planning, as well as the design and economic evaluation of health, safety, and prevention programs.
“It’s one thing to identify a good opportunity at UNH Manchester for a great new program; it’s another thing entirely to find the right talent to make that concept a reality,” said J. Michael Hickey, interim dean. “I’ve long been aware of the impressive work Dr. Ramsay has accomplished at Embry-Riddle, including his scholarship, his excellent teaching record, and the interest that the homeland security program he created attracts. It is fortuitous for the continued success of UNH Manchester that he is available to join our team at this time and bring his 20 years of experience and proficiency to this up-and-coming program.”
Ramsay began his undergraduate education in biochemistry with an eventual plan to continue on to medical school. During his studies, however, he became more interested in the concepts of public health and the systems that form its foundation, such as what causes good health vs. ill health.
With the 9/11 terror attacks and the advent of the homeland security industry, Ramsay then turned his lens of public health and system analysis to this emerging discipline, bringing with him traditionally liberal arts tenets such as critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and problem-solving to create one of the first homeland security bachelor’s degree programs in the country at Embry-Riddle in 2006. Ramsay now joins UNH Manchester to establish an integrated and highly multi-disciplinary homeland security program in New England.
“I couldn’t think of a better place to create a new homeland security program than at the University of New Hampshire Manchester,” said Ramsay. “They have a wonderful and supportive administration who truly understand how important homeland security is to our nation’s future, as well as an available and interested community of area partners in a wide variety of industries, such as defense, law enforcement, first responders, healthcare and more.”
Holding an M.A.B. in health systems administration and a Ph.D. in population health from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Ramsay is co-founder and current president of the International Society for Preparedness, Resilience and Security. He also serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors to the Director of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the CDC; on the Board of Directors for ABET, Inc.; on the editorial review boards for Homeland Security Affairs, the Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and the Journal of Homeland Security Education and the Journal of Human Security and Resilience; and on the Education Standards Committees for both the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE) and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), where he also chairs the committee.
— Written by Kathrin Havrilla
-
Written By:
Staff writer | Communications and Public Affairs
