Mercy College and Putnam County Partner to Form Leadership Alliance

Dobbs Ferry, NY (PRWEB) August 22, 2013

Mercy College and Putnam County, NY have partnered to form The Leadership Alliance, which provides educational programs for Putnam County leaders. The Leadership Alliance is open to leaders in county government, municipal departments, school districts and private businesses, and will be taught by former leaders from the private and public sectors who are now professors at Mercy College.    

Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell, and Mercy College School of Business Dean Dr. Ed Weis, will host a kick-off reception and press conference on Thursday, August 22 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Putnam County Golf Course, 187 Hill Street, Mahopac, NY where details of the program will be announced.

The Leadership Alliance will get underway with two programs. First, Mercy College will offer a 12-month program, starting in October 2013, where students will earn a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership focused on Emergency Management and Security. As part of the program Mercy College professors will assist Putnam County leaders in developing the County’s Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP). The MJHMP will identify risk, develop mitigation plans, preparedness plans and response plans.

Second, in January 2014, Mercy College will begin offering a Certificate Program in Corporate and Homeland Security to Putnam County community leaders. The program will provide 15 undergraduate credits toward a bachelor’s degree. The Certificate Program will run concurrently with the master’s degree program and will also be integrated with the Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan.

Dr. Weis says, “This is a wonderful opportunity for leaders in Putnam County to collaborate with our faculty of former business and community leaders to tackle some of the county’s challenging issues.”

Odell says, “My administration is looking to the future. This public-private partnership with Mercy College is an unprecedented opportunity. As I promised, we are bringing higher education to Putnam County. We are excited about the high level of interest expressed so far in these programs. In this day in age, disaster preparedness skills are essential. The training being offered will insure we have a critically trained team of first responders in place. We are thrilled to be able to offer an in-house means for Putnam County leaders to further educate themselves within our borders.”

Courses will begin on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 at the Putnam County Emergency Services Training and Operations Center in Carmel.

About Mercy College

Founded in 1950, Mercy College is a private, not-for-profit higher education institution that offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs within five prestigious schools: Business, Education, Health and Natural Sciences, Liberal Arts and Social and Behavioral Sciences. Mercy College offers an engaging and personalized learning experience that includes the College’s revolutionary Personalized Achievement Contract (PACT) program. The Mercy College PACT is the first program of its kind and now serves as a nationally recognized model for mentoring. http://www.mercy.edu 877-MERCY-GO .