| Home > Events > Public as an Asset, Not a Problem, 2003 > Robert J. Ursano Introduction and Chair 
| Robert J. Ursano, MD
Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and Chairman,
Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University School of Medicine |
Transcript [Listen to this talk]
DR. SCHOCH-SPANA: It is a great pleasure to turn the floor over to Dr. Robert Ursano. I was mentioning to Robert that it was a pleasure to read his formal bio, because it's through personal interaction that I feel a sense of his leadership qualities, but it was nice to see the types of accomplishments that he has achieved in his career. He is a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience, and also the Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He was the first Chairman of the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster, and he is a member of many, many distinguished panels that are focused upon the mental health aspects of terrorism. And you're welcome to read his bio when you have an opportunity. And I would welcome you to the microphone. Thanks, Robert. DR. URSANO: Thank you, Monica. It's a pleasure to be here. Just to set the stage for our speakers to remind all of us that bioterrorism is one particular type of terrorism. Terrorism is actually one particular type of human-made disaster. In thinking of that nosology it can aid us in understanding both what are the types of problems that we face, and what are the problems that leaders face, what information can we draw on that may be helpful. What is different about terrorism is the way in which it has become a national agenda, and in the way in which we recognize it as a threat to our national security. Where in the past it has been well-known that military power, economic power and information are, in fact, the cornerstones for national security, this conference is raising the level of our awareness of our communities and our social capital, as a critical element of our nation's security. Since that is a primary target of terrorist events, and in particular bioterrorist events, the importance of leaders understanding how to protect, how to ensure the resiliency, the reliability, the redundancy of our social capital, that it can survive a potential bioterrorist event. The role of leaders in such settings span from naming the problem, to deciding when to make changes. I had the opportunity to chat with Mayor Giuliani, and asked him one particular question; which was, how did he know when to change from talk about rescuing people at the World Trade Center to recovering bodies? That change in language mobilizes a community in a particular direction, and the subtleness of that decision assures either accurate and helpful responses of large groups, or potentially creates roadblocks for communities in such settings. Following 9/11 I was doing a live web broadcast with Sam Donaldson, and at one point he turned and asked me about so, how do you think Mr. Bush is doing? As a federal employee, I felt my career pass in front of my eyes, and realized the opportunity to do bad here was high. Reaching back into my memory banks, I responded that I thought Mr. Bush was expressing the fear and anger of the nation. Number one, I thought it wasn't a bad answer. Number two, it saved my career, but it represents how leaders approach a community and try to assure that communities are an asset, rather than become a problem. How they make time decisions, and what they choose to say. So this morning we're going to spend time thinking more about how communities can be assets, how leaders will relate to those communities, and how the mass response to a crisis in fact requires and demands that our communities be an asset to us. [return to top] |
