“At the time, we had Hurricane Irma bearing down on Florida and citizens across the state were concerned,” Col. Grant Slayden said. “We had units flying in from Kentucky and others driving from New Jersey, Alabama and Georgia, all converging on Florida, and there was nowhere to put them. We got here and were welcomed with open arms with the full support of Dr. Kernek, Chief Beary and Jeff Morgan under [Dr. Hitt’s] leadership.”

For several days in September, UCF hosted more than 700 members of the 164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and other units as they worked around Central Florida. Soldiers slept in the Nicholson Field House and UCF Athletics locker rooms, ate meals served by student-athletes and coaches, and parked service vehicles at Spectrum Stadium and around campus.

“My brigade was responsible for 40 of Florida’s 67 counties and we immediately took maximum advantage of the central staging area [at UCF] where we could disperse across the state quickly, post hurricane,” said Slayden. “We ended up saving 327 people from rising water, providing shelter for 10,260 people, distributing 2 million bottles of water, almost 1 million MREs (Meal, Ready-to-Eat) and 666 tons of ice — all staged from [UCF]. … It was amazing.”

For UCFPD, supporting the National Guard’s efforts is a natural partnership.

“We’re all in the public safety business: law enforcement, emergency management and the National Guard,” said Beary, who will retire on June 14 after 41 years in law enforcement. “The better we work together and the better we coordinate our efforts, the better service we provide to the citizens — and that’s what it’s all about.”

Hitt, who will step down from the presidency at the end of June, accepted the award with a message of continued community involvement from the university.

“People all around us need help and support, and it’s our responsibility as members of the community to do what we can to help our units as they attempt to safeguard the folks who live and work in these areas, including our own students and faculty and staff members,” he said. “We’re helping them help us.”

Morgan joined Ů��AV in 2008 and is the force behind UCF’s comprehensive emergency management program that has grown into a model for the State University System.

“I’m honored to have been nominated and selected as a finalist,” said Morgan. “It means a lot to me because it was my staff that nominated me, and knowing that they feel this way about me is rewarding in itself.”

Though UCF’s emergency management program has humble beginnings, it has grown into a robust operation that was expanded in November 2014 to manage the university’s card access and camera systems.

“The newly formed Office of Security Management is taking UCF to the next level when it comes to physical security,” Morgan said. “We are introducing new policies, procedures and technology to help enhance the safety and security of our UCF community.”

UCF’s Emergency Operations Center also was developed under Morgan’s leadership. The old office building was transformed into a state-of-the-art facility that is among the first of its kind for a Florida university.

In March 2015, the EOC served as a hub of activity during a regional full-scale mass casualty exercise that brought more than 60 agencies, 1,200 support personnel and 1,000 participants to UCF. The exercise was led by Morgan and his team, and it provided valuable training to first responders across Central Florida.

“UCF has been proactive when it comes to safety and security and that is what sets us apart,” Morgan said. “That mindset will continue to allow our students to learn, our researchers to do their work, and our faculty to teach in a safe environment.”

Morgan, who previously served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, also pays it forward as an adjunct professor. He teaches students in the Emergency Management and Homeland Security graduate certificate program, part of the College of Health and Public Affairs.

Morgan is also leading Ů��AV in the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) process. EMAP is a university-wide, rigorous external peer-review of UCF’s organization, resources, plans and capabilities against 64 standards addressing best practices in emergency prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery.  The process started in 2015 and is still underway.

Campus Safety Magazine will announce this year’s campus safety director of the year winner in July.

“Emergency Management has experienced incredible growth since Jeff joined UCF, and it’s no coincidence,” said UCF Police Chief Richard Beary. Jeff is a leader who is dedicated to thinking innovatively and building partnerships, and I am proud of him and his team for earning recognition from Campus Safety Magazine.”