Fukushima firsthand

Professor Jessica McManus Warnell leads a group of Notre Dame students through shops in Japan.

What does it take for a community to recover from a natural or manmade disaster, or even a combination of the two? As natural disasters increase in number and severity, especially as a result of climate change, answers are crucial to help communities recover.

And resilience must be examined from many disciplines, said Jessica McManus Warnell, a professor of management and organization and the Rex and Alice A. Martin Faculty Director of the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership at the Mendoza College of Business.

“It was evident in the beginning that if you’re going to address an issue like natural disaster response and recovery, you can’t simply approach it through one lens,” McManus said. “Our work examines resilience, economic recovery, community partnerships, and multisector engagement, all in the context of climate change—so while management and business decision-making are my focus, the study is incomplete without incorporating ideas from science, cultural studies, engineering, and other diverse disciplines.

“This is an aspect of the project that is really exciting for me, working alongside colleagues from across campus, and our faculty team is energized by engaging students in opportunities to work with a team from disciplines they may not interact with in their day-to-day classrooms.”

McManus approached Notre Dame colleagues in 2018 to assemble a research team to examine resilience in Fukushima.

Read the full story at ND Stories.