Staff Directory

Jefferson F. Howells, CEM
Director, Emergency Preparedness and Planning
Phone: 765-494-0446

Jefferson F. Howells, MS, CEM®, serves as the Director of Emergency Preparedness for Purdue University. With over 24 years of service to the University, he brings a career-long commitment to public safety, operational resilience, and institutional risk management. Prior to his current role, he served as an Assistant Chief with the Purdue University Fire Department, and Project Manager with the Purdue Homeland Security Institute. While serving in these roles he developed extensive experience in incident command, emergency operations, comprehensive all-Hazards emergency management planning, exercise design & development, plus multi-agency coordination.

Jefferson is the principal author of Purdue University’s Integrated Emergency Management Plan (IEMP) and the PurdueALERT Emergency Notification Plan, establishing the strategic and operational framework that guides the University’s prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts across all campuses. His work integrates national best practices, regulatory requirements, and Purdue-specific operational realities to ensure all students, faculty, staff, have a scalable, defensible, and mission-aligned emergency management structure.

As a proud staff member and alumnus, he remains focused on strengthening institutional resilience, advancing cross-campus coordination, and ensuring Purdue’s public safety infrastructure continues to support the University’s academic and research mission at the highest level.

Jason Philhower, CEM
Program Manager, Emergency Preparedness and Planning
Phone: 765-496-9071