Learn how Michael Greenberger transformed the Center for Health and Homeland Security from a one-person operation to a nationally recognized institution in the latest issue of “CATALYST” magazine.
When terrorists struck on Sept. 11, 2001, Michael Greenberger, JD, was teaching his first semester of classes at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. The following spring, he launched an organization that would transform emergency preparedness across the state and nation.
Greenberger retired June 30 as founding director of the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security (CHHS), concluding a 22-year tenure during which the center grew from a one-person operation into a nationally recognized institution with 35 professionals.
The center’s creation stemmed from the aftermath of 9/11, when then-University of Maryland, Baltimore President David J. Ramsay, DM, DPhil, sought to establish an organization that would focus the University’s academic talents on combating terrorism.
“We started this center with basically no mandate except to do something about terrorism,” Greenberger said. “Now we’re working for governors, mayors, and private-sector clients nationwide on everything from cybersecurity to public health emergencies.”
“It was very forward-thinking of him,” said Heather Shaivitz, JD, CHHS associate director and a Maryland Carey Law alumna. “Michael created something that didn’t exist anywhere else in the country. We’re affiliated with an academic institution but do a combination of academic work and real-world consulting. Most places that work in this field either do one or the other, but not really both. He’s really always been on the cutting edge.”
The journey to creating the center wasn’t a straight line. After 25 years in private practice and serving as director of the Division of Trading and Markets at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and in the Clinton administration’s Justice Department as principal deputy associate attorney general, Greenberger landed at Maryland Carey Law through what he calls a stroke of luck — spotting a faculty opening in The Washington Post.
His expertise in emergency management, developed through his Justice Department work on counterterrorism exercises, caught the attention of Ramsay in the months after 9/11.
Under Greenberger’s leadership, the center has shaped emergency preparedness across Maryland and beyond. The center’s work proved particularly crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic, when staff worked exhaustive shifts helping jurisdictions implement emergency services and organize vaccine clinics.
The growth didn’t happen overnight. Early projects focused on basic emergency management such as developing continuity of operations plans for state agencies. As new threats emerged, the center adapted, adding expertise in cybersecurity, public health preparedness, and crisis management.
“One project led to another,” Greenberger said. “People would say, ‘Can you do this? Can you do that?’ These were paying projects from cities and states, and we kept growing to meet the need.”
Beyond consulting, the center has developed extensive academic programs. Staff members teach 13 courses across multiple programs at Maryland Carey Law and at the University of Maryland, College Park, training the next generation of emergency management professionals.
Read more about Michael Greenberger here.
You can read the Fall 2024 issue of CATALYST magazine, which highlights the School of Dentistry's efforts to provide dentures to seniors through a grant program; School of Pharmacy recent graduate Alena Abraham's podcast dedicated to supporting the blind and visually impaired community; Mary Maldarelli, a fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and 2019 School of Medicine graduate using her musical talents to create a therapeutic healing environment; Taofeek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, the new executive director of the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center; and much, much more!