In 2014, Dr. Jilian Donnelly launched a labor of love, a bachelor’s degree program tailor-made for first responders.

The daughter of a firefighter, Donnelly knew what the life of a first responder involved: shift work, long hours at the scenes of tragic incidents, and the courage to run toward danger. In the years since she introduced the Public Safety Administration program, Donnelly has helped 396 firefighters, police, paramedics, and EMTs earn college degrees.

Many of the students had not been in an academic setting for years and viewed a return to the classroom with some trepidation. To ease that anxiety, Donnelly says, “I become their den mother, their academic advisor, and their first professor.”

According to Jeff Luse ’24, a captain at The Colony Fire Department in Texas, “Dr. Donnelly was my first instructor and provided an open-armed welcome into the program. She understands time crunches and scheduling complexity. She supports you.”

Kyle Montgomery ’19, the chief of police in Magnolia, Texas, agrees. “With Jil, I just felt from the get-go that this was her purpose in life – to help first responders further themselves. She always had that mindset. There was genuine caring and hospitality.”

Gabe Angemi ’16, a captain in the City of Camden Fire Department in New Jersey, describes Donnelly’s influence succinctly. “Jil is a saint. She brings you in, develops you, and then turns you loose. It’s a special talent.”

In addition to Donnelly’s guidance and support, the structure of the PSA program is very attractive to first responders. The asynchronous online courses provide great flexibility for adult students on shift work, and Neumann accepts as many as 90 transfer credits and prior learning experience credentials.

“The short timeframe to finish, the online format, and being able to do the work on my own time made the program right for me,” says Heather Atkinson ’19, the director of education for Good Fellowship Ambulance and EMS Training Institute in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “You had deadlines and knew what was expected up front so you could tailor your schedule to assignments.”

Tom Johnson ’16, the chief of police in Dover, Delaware, is grateful for the transfer credits. “Neumann took my prior training and experience and harvested the academic achievement from my CV to jumpstart my journey toward my degree. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by electives and prerequisites, I was able to dive into the core curriculum and really focus on advancing my professional goals. The program was truly the linchpin that allowed me to unlock my full potential.”

Many of the first responders begin with a pragmatic goal. Donnelly, the executive director of adult and continuing education, explains that they need a credential, that college degree, to check off a box on a job application or promotional exam.

“When they’re here, however, something magical and transformative happens to them whether they realize it or not,” she says. “When they leave, they understand how their calling is an embodiment of the Franciscan tradition, and that influences the impact that they have in the world.”

For some PSA graduates, a love of learning takes root. Police Chief Montgomery admits that being in class with EMTs and firefighters, who think differently than law enforcement officers, provides new perspectives and generates outside-the-box thinking.

“I learned from the other students,” he recalls, “and I actually enjoyed it. I did not expect that to happen, and I miss it to this day.”

That kind of insight is exactly what Donnelly had in mind when she decided to mix police, firefighters, paramedics, and EMTs in courses. “If you’re at an emergency scene, you have to interact with each other, and those connections are vitally important,” she explains.

For Camden’s Angemi, the impact was more profound. Since he graduated from Neumann, he has earned a master’s degree at Georgetown University and an EdD at the University of Southern California.

“Jil’s guidance in the PSA program lit a fire in me that I never thought existed. I actually like crushing my brain,” he jokes. “It set the tone for the next 10 years of my life.”

Dr. Angemi is now working on his first book.

Neumann’s Public Safety Administration program has alumni in 18 states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Oregon.

U.S. News & World Report has ranked the online bachelor’s degree among the best in the country. In rankings released on January 21, 2025, the magazine named Neumann’s program as #4 in Pennsylvania and #107 nationwide.

The four categories used to assess online degree programs are Student Engagement (35%), Services and Technologies (25%), Faculty Credentials and Training (20%), and Peer Assessment (20%).

According to the magazine, “U.S. News chose factors that weigh how these programs are being delivered and their effectiveness at awarding affordable degrees in a reasonable amount of time.”

Donnelly notes that the student satisfaction rankings for the PSA program are higher than those of Neumann’s Pennsylvania competitors and that no other Commonwealth university focuses on first responders.

Luse provides a fitting final endorsement: “Personally, the program has broadened my perspective. Being able to take information that seems unrelated and synthesize it into what we do, understand how it applies to what we do, is very valuable. It also bolstered my belief in myself.”

Donnelly’s reaction? “I love this program with all my heart.”