KU News Release

Former FEMA director Michael Brown to speak at KU’s Dole Institute

LAWRENCE — Michael Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, at the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. The program is titled “Hurricane Katrina: An Insider Tells His Side of the Story.”

“Michael Brown was in a position to witness the entire federal, state and local response to one of our country’s greatest natural disasters,” said Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute. “Very few public servants have been as scrutinized and vilified by critics and the media. We are really looking forward to hearing him discuss his side of the story.”

As director of FEMA, Brown oversaw and managed more than 13,000 full- and part-time employees and a $12 billion budget of FEMA, the National Flood Insurance Administration, the U.S. Fire Administration, the National Disaster Medical System, the Nuclear Incident Response Teams, the Domestic Emergency Support Team, the Office of National Security Coordination and the Office of International Affairs. He also served on the Department of Homeland Security's Investment Review Board overseeing the $41 billion budget and investment decisions of the department.

During Brown’s tenure, he led FEMA through one of the greatest periods of activity in its 26-year history. He has worked through hundreds of disasters, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.; the Bam, Iran, earthquake; California wildfires; hurricanes in the southeastern United States, including Hurricane Katrina; and the 2004 tsunami in South Asia.

The program is free and open to the public and will include an audience question and answer session. It will also be simulcast at the Edwards Campus in Overland Park. For more information, contact the Dole Institute of Politics at (785) 864-4900. For information on the simulcast, go to the Edwards Campus Web site.

The Dole Institute of Politics is dedicated to the mission of promoting public service, civic engagement and politics. It is located on KU’s west campus next to the Lied Center.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.