College of Business and Public Affairs receives $3.5 million grant
Morehead State University’s Program of Distinction, IRAPP (Institute for Regional Analysis and Public Policy), a part of t
he new College of Business and Public Affairs, recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the University of Kentucky.
The grant was announced by the National Institute for Hometown Security (NIHS) as part of the DHS Critical Infrastructure Protection Program. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers (R-KY5) convened a meeting of grant recipients in Somerset where the partnership between IRAPP, the UK Transportation Center, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, and Coldstream Digital LLC was recognized for their $3,500,000 grant award.
“We are pleased to continue our collaborations with faculty at the University of Kentucky and we also look forward to working with Coldstream Digital and General Dynamics,” said Dr. Michael Hail, MSU faculty member and principal investigator. “The work our political science research team is doing contributes to a better understanding of terrorist threats and assists in the more accurate tracking of hazardous transportation in the U.S.”
This project establishes the North American Transportation Security Center at the University of Kentucky. The shipment of hazardous materials provides a target for terrorists, and in Kentucky, 70,000 trucks pass through the State each day, with some of them carrying hazmat. The ability to track hazmat shipments on a real time basis is essential for providing an early warning of an impending terrorist attack.
The grant will provide the resources to design and organize a functional prototype of a hazmat truck tracking center. The project will complement a Congressional directive to the Transportation Security Administration to develop a program that tracks motor carrier shipments of security-sensitive materials.
“We are pleased our faculty continue to attract research funding from the Department of Homeland Security. Their work is a valued research contribution to the science of public management and to the security of our nation,” said IRAPP Dean David Rudy.
Morehead State’s research team includes Dr. Hail, MPA director and assistant dean of IRAPP, Dr. Stephen Lange, assistant professor of government; and Dr. Murray Bessette, assistant professor of government.
Morehead faculty and graduate students will work on public policy studies of national security and regulations as well as intergovernmental management of hazardous materials and tracking of terror threats.
For more information contact Dr. Rudy at (606) 783-5419, e-mail at d.rudy@moreheadstate.edu, or visit irapp.moreheadstate.edu.
Posted: 7-1-09
