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Julian K Muhammad

Assistant Professor and Interim Director, Institute for HLS & EM, Criminal Justice

Dr. Julian K. Muhammad is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). He is also a senior fellow and interim director for the NCCU Institute for Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Dr. Muhammad has been academically and professionally active in emergency management and homeland security for over 35 years. He has served as a risk and emergency manager in the Government of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., and continuity and logistics coordinator for the City of Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management. In addition, Dr. Muhammad has served as a senior emergency management consultant to various federal government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Since 2012, Dr. Muhammad has been a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) by the International Association of Emergency Managers; a FEMA Incident Command Systems (ICS) Train-the-Trainer Instructor and a FEMA Master Continuity Practitioner and Instructor. He is committed to developing future emergency management professionals to serve underserved communities. He has received funding to support student research to improve emergency management and homeland security operational planning, information sharing, and real-time decision-making.

Education

B.A., Criminal Justice	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	1985
M.S., Legal Studies/Homeland Security	PennWest California University	2006
Graduate Certificate in Disaster/Emergency Management	American Military University	2013
Ph.D. Political Science/Public Administration	Howard University	2014
Graduate Certificate in Information Technology/Cybersecurity	University of Phoenix	2018
Post-Doctorate in Business Administration, Project Management Specialization	Walden University	2022

Research Projects

Producer, Unlocking Potential: NCCU Summer Research Journey [Film]. North Carolina Central University, September 2025.
Principal Investigator, Disaster Telemedicine Planning for Medical Surge Following Catastrophic Disasters in Rural Communities In North Carolina (January-December 2025).
Principal Investigator, (Strategies to Integrate Disaster Telemedicine into Local Emergency Preparedness Planning in North Carolina (June 2024-August 2024). The purpose of the research was to identify and assist local emergency managers in North Carolina to better understand the specific challenges associated with implementing disaster telemedicine technologies in emergency management planning and response operations.
Principal Investigator, Study of Emergent Issues in WUI Firefighter Occupational Health and Safety (October 2022-March 2025). This U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) sponsored research project is to identify lessons learned and best practices in firefighter occupational health and safety in Wildland Urban Interface firefighting (WUIFF).
Research Project Lead, Federal Emergency Doctrine Analysis Research Project (July 2021-May 2023). This Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Training and Education Division (NTED) sponsored research project was to analyze federal emergency management-related doctrine to identify its various sources, ensure the inclusion and alignment of current and applicable federal guidance, policies, procedures, standards, etc. with all NTED emergency management-related courses, and develop a tool to access doctrine when developing training courses.

Article Peer Reviews

Kuehl, K., Elliot, D., DeFrancesco, C., McGinnis, W., Ek, S., & Garg, B. (2023). A Web-Based Total Worker Health Intervention for Those Fighting Wildland Fires: Mixed Methods Development and Effectiveness Trial. Journal of medical Internet research, 25, e47050. https://doi.org/10.2196/47050.

Dissertation Committee Chair/Member

Fire Safety Education and Increasing Functioning Smoke Detectors in Residential Apartments (Chair). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/13719/
Factors Inhibiting the Implementation of a Comprehensive Disaster Management Framework in Trinidad and Tobago (Chair) https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/11227/
The Role of Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) during Disasters Serving Vulnerable Populations: A Case Study in a City in Southeastern Pennsylvania (Chair) https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/13322/
Improving Racial Diversity in the AmeriCorps Saint Louis Emergency Response Team (ERT) (Chair). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/12783/
Effectively Managing Communication After a Crisis: A Phenomenographic Study on Public Health Crisis in the Country of Jamaica (Chair) https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/15815/
Natural Hazards Triggering Technological Disasters: Source Identification, Vulnerability, and Evaluation of Emergency Preparedness in a Southern California City (Chair). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/15978/
The Linear Evolution of Local Emergency Management Training in Response to Domestic Terrorism (Member). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/12138/
Terrorism Preparedness, Collaboration, and Organizational Culture in the National Capital Region (Member). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/11563/
Impact of 9/11 Attacks and Federal Funding on the National Guard’s Organizational and Operational Focus (Member/Reviewer) https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/13572/
A Transition-Focused Plan of Action and Milestones for Medical Reform at a U.S. Military Treatment Facility (Member). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/12768/
Impact of Veteran Treatment Courts on Lived Experiences of Male Military Veterans with Misdemeanor Criminal Records Member) https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/16271/
New Normal: Improving Employee Retention in the Virtual Workforce (Chair). (Completed September 2024).
Analyzing A Chat Room within the City of St. Louis’ Public Safety Answering Point (Chair) (Completed April 2025).
Evaluation of Unmet Needs of Vulnerable Populations and At-Risk Communities Through Disaster Management Planning (Member) (Pending).

Courses

HLS3000 - Introduction to Homeland Security

HLS3200 - Emergency Management and Recovery

HLS3500 - Infrastructure Protection

HLS4640 - Homeland Security Theory, Policy, and Practice

CRJU3060 - Ethics in Criminal Justice

CRJU4600.01 - Senior Seminar

Publications

Muhammad, J. K. (2014). The Politics of Presidential Disaster Declarations Case Studies of Disasters in Louisiana: Severe Storms and Flooding of March 11–12, 2012 and January 8–17, 2013. Howard University.

Grants

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Summer Research Team (SRT) Program. "Strategies to Integrate Disaster Telemedicine into Local Emergency Preparedness Planning and Response Operations."
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Summer Research Team (SRT) Program. "Disaster Telemedicine Planning for Medical Surge Following Catastrophic Disasters in Rural Communities In North Carolina."