Pitt Center for National Preparedness Lecture, "Fragility in Disaster Response: Hurricane Katrina," Set for Dec. 8

PITTSBURGH-Louise K. Comfort, professor of public and international affairs in the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), will deliver a lecture titled "Fragility in Disaster Response, Hurricane Katrina" as part of the Pitt Center for National Preparedness Seminar Series, at 3 p.m. Dec. 8, Fifth Floor, Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland. A reception will follow.

Comfort will discuss the dynamics of intergovernmental agency relations that contributed to the catastrophe in New Orleans, and she will outline a set of recommendations for improving the capacity of governmental jurisdictions to manage risk through coordinated action.

The Pitt Center for National Preparedness comprises University scientists, engineers, policy experts, and clinical faculty who possess expertise in biomedical research, public health, medicine, national security policy, engineering, and information technology. The center's members include faculty in the School of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, GSPIA, and the Schools of Engineering, Information Sciences, Law, Medicine, and Nursing. A collaborative enterprise, the center communicates its research to the broader public through the educational and training programs in which students, policymakers, and other interested parties participate.

To RSVP by Dec. 5, e-mail cnp@pitt.edu. For more information about the center and the seminar series, visit cnp.pitt.edu.

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