The number of African American males who are incarcerated is extremely high and alarming. African American males have the lowest attainment of associate degrees when compared to other ethnicities and to females. This places a monumental task on institutions of higher education, particularly community colleges, to enroll, retain, and graduate African American males. The purpose of this study was to examine the performance of an African American male initiative program at a small, rural community college in Mississippi. This study utilized a quantitative, cross-sectional research design to look at variables of Grade Point Average (GPA) and number of credits earned between African American male participants of the program and those who did not participate in the program over a period of six semesters. Results from this study showed a significant difference in number of credits earned between the students who participated in the program and those who did not, with non-participants earning an average of one to two credits more than participants. The study also showed that students who did not participate in the program had a slightly higher GPA than the students who did participate in the program for three out of the six semesters. This study enhances the ability for community college and university administrators to implement policies and best practices to engage African American male students.

The Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) is a program that provides medical countermeasures during a public health emergency. A public health emergency can be a natural or man-made disaster, an act of terrorism, or a pandemic. The Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) was created to help the nation’s largest metropolitan regions develop the ability to provide SNS life-saving medications in the event of a large-scale bioterrorist attack or naturally occurring disease outbreak. To address the risks associated with a public health emergency the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires a comprehensive emergency response plan for distributing SNS/CRI materials quickly and efficiently. The Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness (FCDHW) is tasked with responsibility for distributing and dispensing of SNS/CRI medical assets delivered during a public health emergency. FCDHW is also tasked with the development of a comprehensive response plan. Past TAR scores revealed that passing SNS/CRI audits has been a challenge for FCDHW. A case study was conducted to note if the development of an information management system could facilitate successful future SNS/CRI audits. A needs assessment revealed that an information management system for emergency preparedness and response compliance was needed. Microsoft SharePoint 2007 was used to develop the information management system. SharePoint contains a secure document repository that linked the work products of all relevant internal and external stakeholders and revealed compliance deficiencies early enough to allow for corrective actions. The result was a passing TAR score that was a 59 point increase from the last published score.