Firefighters pumping up knowledge by degrees

Eckerd College's Program for Experienced Learners accommodates the demands of the firefighting profession in degree program.

By DENIS THERIAULT

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 10, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Gulfport fire Chief Brian Brooks admits that he's a victim of changing times.

"If you look across fire and police services, education is becoming key," said Brooks, 44, who has a two-year degree from St. Petersburg Junior College. "It seems like everyone's got a four-year degree, even middle management."

So Brooks, like many working adults, returned to school, eventually enrolling in Eckerd College's Program for Experienced Learners. Already offering a bachelor's degree program for professionals, Eckerd is one of the few schools to offer such a program specifically for firefighters.

Brooks and five other firefighters will graduate May 20 with degrees in organizational studies, with a public leadership emphasis.

The program's organizers report more than 50 graduates since 1996 and say that firefighters from Tampa Bay to Gainesville to Tallahassee and Cape Canaveral are lining up for a chance to don a cap and gown.

Lana Romani, the program's administrative coordinator, says the attraction is easy to explain. When Eckerd first decided to offer the degree, she said, it tried to "tailor-fit" the curriculum to a firefighter's academic needs.

A sociology professor hung out with firefighters at the station and on trucks as they sped to emergencies.

"She got a good understanding of what they needed in the classroom," Romani said.

Keeping the class work so closely related to a firefighter's actual duties, Romani said, allows the students to apply their class work to projects they are wrestling with on the job.

For instance, if firefighters have to compile statistics for a safety report, that report can double as a homework assignment for their statistics class, Romani said. They then could improve the report with the skills learned in class.

Doug Lewis, chief of St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue's rescue division, said he based most of his research papers on his own department. By looking at the global issues facing fire officials, such as how to help female firefighters better fit into a male-dominated world, Lewis said he learned how to be more sensitive in his day-to-day duties.

"I can already see the difference," Lewis said. "It's really enhanced my ability to manage people."

Some of the most important learning, Lewis said, came from listening to his peers: "I like that. (Students) relate to your life experiences as well as the life experiences others have had."

Romani said firefighters also choose the Eckerd program because of its flexibility. Firefighters can take weekend classes to accommodate the 24-hour shifts they have to work, Romani said. The program awards firefighters up to two years of credit for some community college experience and any non-academic work-related experience they have accumulated, Romani said.

Public leadership classes are held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on three weekends throughout a four-month period. Students in the experienced learners program, who are 25 and older, usually take classes on an eight-week schedule with sessions meeting on different weeknights.

Students can stay overnight at Eckerd's Continuing Education Center, and they are allowed to bring their wives and children.

"It had the least impact possible on my family life," Brooks said. "Being in class one night a week just wasn't conducive to having a career and family."

While the work is often rigorous inside and outside of class, both Lewis and Brooks said the experience has been worth it.

Lewis said he's trying to "get other guys to go." He's even trying to get his wife to sign up for one of PEL's other programs.

"My first 14 or 15 years, I never thought you needed education," he said. "This program certainly has led me to preach more."

And Brooks, who has spent the past five years managing a staff of 27 firefighters, said the program has been paying dividends. "I definitely feel like I've earned the degree," he said. "It's definitely made me a better leader. And I think it adds an air of professionalism to the office."

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