Emergency Management Professor Receives Prestigious Award
06/13/2025
By Brett Buckner
Dr. Mark Landahl, Associate Professor of Emergency Management at Jacksonville State University, was recently named the 2025 recipient of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) award in Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
Sponsored by the University of Central Florida School of Public Administration, the SoTL was one of three awards given during the annual Emergency Management Higher Education Symposium. Each award focuses on a different aspect: career achievement (Wayne Blanchard Award sponsored by North Dakota State University), technology innovation (Kay Goss Award sponsored by Arkansas Tech University) and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award.
"The award is also not just based on teaching," said Dr. Landahl. "It is based on research that informs scholarly teaching. Essentially, discovery related to how teaching happens." In the past year, Dr. Landahl and Dr. Stacy Willett at the University of Akron received a research grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to study internships in emergency management and homeland security higher education. The report was published by FEMA, and they are continuing to work on related publications.
"The recognition means a lot and is inspiring me as someone so close to professional practice," said Dr. Landahl, who was nominated for the SoTL by a colleague in the field. "As we navigate coming change in emergency management, the link between education and professional practice is more important than ever."
When Dr. Landahl joined the Jax State faculty in the fall, it was his first appointment as a full-time professor. But he is not new to teaching, having spent 20 years in higher education. Before last year, Dr. Landahl's teaching experience was as an adjunct while still working in the field. "It is that identity as a teaching practitioner-scholar that makes me the most proud," he said. "Over the last 20 years, I taught, conducted research, and published while still having significant responsibilities as a law enforcement commander and later as an emergency management director."
Dr. Tanveer Islam, Jax State Professor and Chair of Emergency Management and Public Administration, said being awarded the SoTL was confirmation for all Dr. Landahl's hard work. "Dr. Landahl has brought a wealth of experience in law enforcement and homeland security," he said, "This prestigious honor is a true testament to his exceptional ability to bridge academic teaching and research with real-world practice."
Dr. Islam is confident that Dr. Landahl "will continue to advance the field of Emergency Management through innovative teaching and impactful scholarship, guided by his deep commitment to integrating theory and practice. "He said, "[This will benefit] not only our students but also the broader academic and professional communities."
As a teacher, Dr. Landahl tries to ensure that his classes are keeping pace with an ever-evolving academic landscape. "It is a dynamic field that changes with each disaster," he said. "It makes all of our work in teaching this discipline difficult. Students connect with current and relevant content that helps prepare them for their current positions in the field."