Truman School of Government and Public Affairs

As a freshman at Jefferson City High School, Emily Waggoner was having trouble fitting in. She was not performing well on the school’s softball team, and she was losing friends. She struggled with the transition to high school. That adversity eventually led to an eating disorder that left Waggoner weighing just 93 pounds.

Planning for a More Resilient Future, A Guide to Regional Approaches, a joint publication between the NADO Research Foundation and the Institute of Public Policy, authored by IPP Director, Brian Dabson, highlights the importance of resilience framework and how this structure relies on the development of relationships between local, regional, state, and national agencies and organizations to determine how well a community successfully navigates a disaster.

Thirty doctoral candidates participated in the first annual Mizzou Three Minutes Thesis competition. From two preliminary nights, 12 winners advanced to the semi finals: Nathaniel Graham, Madeline Miller, Surya Sapkota, Arianna Soldati, TasiaTaxis, Jessica M. Anderson, Lincoln Sheets, Sarah Smith, Page Quinton, Scott Askinosie, Sarah E Lirley McCune, and Maria Jones.

Originally, Samantha Franks’ concentration area within her political science major was conflict, but she made the switch to constitutional studies. “I’m probably more interested in conflict,” says Franks, a senior from Nixa, Missouri. “It’s just that the constitutional studies stuff here is so good.”

The Michael Brown shooting and subsequent protests which brought unrest and international media attention to Ferguson, Missouri also brought, by Governor Jay Nixon’s Executive Order 14-15, a diverse, empowered group of community leaders together to form the Ferguson Commission. Its charge was to study the underlying social and economic conditions prevalent in the St. Louis area and make recommendations for action.

“Resilient communities and regions are those that are able to anticipate their vulnerability to natural, economic, and other potential threats.  They take action to limit their exposure to these threats, and they have plans, processes, and resources in place to help them recover quickly should disaster strike. At the core of resilience is the willingness and ability to adapt to change to ensure positive outcomes for all residents and businesses.” [1]

President Barak Obama says the Iranian nuclear agreement announced by the United States and its partners Tuesday is “a historic chance to pursue a safer and more secure world.” Speaking in the East Room of the White House yesterday, the president said the deal will ensure the Iranians will not produce a nuclear weapon for the next 15 years.