Bio for Emergency Management and Campus Safety

Matthew Colpitts – Professional Bio – Emergency Management and Campus Safety – December 2018

Dr. Matthew W. Colpitts has worked in the fields of student affairs, emergency management, and campus safety for over 15 years.  Matthew currently serves as the Director of Residential Life, Safety and Security at Léman Manhattan Preparatory School where leads the educational, operational, and student support aspects of the boarding program as well as all school safety, security, and emergency management functions.  In addition to his educator, administrator, and campus safety work with diverse educational institutions including Clark University, Landmark College, Southern Oregon University, Utah State University, and Interlochen Center of the Arts, Matthew has served as a Firefighter/EMT in several communities.  

Matthew holds a doctorate from Fielding Graduate University where he researched emergency preparedness in educational institutions.  Beyond his academic work in emergency management, Matthew is a proud alumnus of the National Fire Academy.  He also holds certifications from TEEX and FEMA, including TEEX’s Infrastructure Protection Certificate, FEMA’s Professional Development Series Certificate, NIMS ICS All-Hazards Planning Section Chief, as well as Incident Command Certifications ICS 100-800. 

As a campus safety and emergency management practitioner-scholar, Matthew has presented on emergency management and campus safety at independent school, boarding school, higher education, and risk management conferences.  He has also written about emergency management and campus safety for student affairs professional publications and on education blogs. Additionally, Matthew has also sat on national and regional advisory boards relating to safety and risk in higher education.