Homeland Security minor possible
Published Sept. 15, 2006
Pending approval from Provost Brian Foster, MU might soon offer a homeland security minor.
Professor of nuclear engineering Tushar Ghosh said fellow departmental professor Mark Prelas first proposed the idea to offer courses of this nature in Fall Semester 2000 after spending his yearlong sabbatical with the State Department. Scientific and Technological Aspects of Terrorism and Counterterrorism was the first course offered.
"We started working with him to develop the first course with much help from faculty across campus," Ghosh said.
Ghosh said Scientific and Technological Aspects of Terrorism and Counterterrorism is taught as a series of lectures given by "14 or 15" different instructors, with areas of expertise varying from medical biology to political science, as well as specialists from Callaway Nuclear Power Plant in St. Louis and the Missouri Department of Homeland Security.
There are already several courses offered that could count toward a homeland security minor. Scientific and Technological Aspects of Terrorism and Counterterrorism, Non-Proliferation Issues for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Nuclear Safeguards; Science and Technology and Radiation Detection are some of the courses already offered through the School of Engineering.
Last week, Prelas said three more courses that could count toward the minor are being developed.
"Our ultimate goal is that our students will be tomorrow's leaders," Ghosh said.
He said courses will also be made available in other departments, such as political science and biology. The proposal to make the minor official will be submitted to Foster today, and then he will decide whether to offer the minor.
"We've had excellent support from a number of departments," Ghosh said. "We're very hopeful that it will be approved."