An inside look into Class #1 in the Master in Public Service and Safety Leadership Program
How does Drury foster a collaborative approach to leadership and problem-solving among public service and safety professionals? It all starts in class #1 and here’s an inside look!
PSSL 600 – Integrated Approaches in Public Safety is the introductory class and it sets the tone for the 10-course master’s program. Students study transformational leadership theories and apply their newfound knowledge to organizational challenges. The 8-week online course inspires professionals from such fields as fire services, emergency management, emergency communications, ambulance services, law enforcement, and public administration to see problems and opportunities through the lens of integration and collaboration.
The course is taught by Chief Jarett Metheny, an established public safety leader, active scholar, and experienced teacher. Metheny refers to those enrolled in his classes as colleagues, and he is passionate about designing learning experiences that are highly engaging and meaningful.
Here’s a look at what colleagues experience in the first class:
- Exploration of ideas via weekly readings from leadership texts, journal articles, and video presentations by the instructor
- Sharing of knowledge through the creation of 2-minute video presentations in which colleagues react to and/or extend concepts from the lecture and reading material. The video-based discussion board promotes wide-ranging conversation and friendly debate among public service and safety colleagues.
- Connections to professionals and educators who share insights on cutting-edge concepts and strategies currently being employed in the public service and safety sectors.
The course culminates in a final project that invites each student to identify an organizational problem that cannot be solved from within the organization’s boundaries. They must collaborate with organizations/agencies outside the public safety realm, develop a proposal to address the issue(s), and present it to Metheny and their classmates.
The proposals by students in the inaugural class have been outstanding, including the examples below:
- Addressing staff hiring issues by partnering with a local community college
- Reducing fall injuries among the elderly in collaboration with a community senior center and food bank
- Instituting a fitness program for firefighters by working closely with a local healthcare system
- Enhancing resource accountability through a partnership with a local university
Colleagues have the opportunity to use these projects to address real-world problems, and potentially improve the communities in which they live while earning credits toward their graduate degrees.
If you think this sounds like a win-win-win scenario, please contact Drury’s College of Graduate Studies for more information about the Public Service and Safety Leadership program.
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