Penn State receives national intelligence award

Penn State receives national intelligence award

University Park, Pa. -- Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology was recently designated an Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, paving the way for IST students to combat cybersecurity threats at the national level when they graduate.

With the designation comes a two-year, $1 million grant from the ODNI with a possible three-year $1.5 million extension. The funds will be used to further Penn State's research in areas related to national security and intelligence, with the goal of producing students who can become leaders in the U.S. intelligence community.

The IC-CAE program is a natural fit for the College of IST, which offers a bachelor's degree in security and risk analysis and a professional master's degree that includes an information assurance and decision support track.

The award proposal was prepared by Henry C. "Hank" Foley, College of IST dean; Lt. Col. Ron Madrid (Ret.), director of Penn State's Office of Military and Security Programs, and Steven Peterson, director of the School of Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg.

"This project exemplifies the partnerships that the College of IST is forming both inside and outside of Penn State," said Foley. "The award will help us further our research and teaching goals at the graduate and undergraduate levels."

Madrid said the IC-CAE program will provide intelligence agencies with qualified Penn State students.

"Intelligence services need to recruit and retain the best and brightest employees -- those with diverse ethnic, cultural and professional backgrounds as well as regional, geographical, industry, language and technical expertise -- to protect our citizens and lead this country in the 21st century," he said.

In 2008, the College of IST was designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education and Research by the U.S. National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

Penn State's Office of Military and Security Programs will administer the IC-CAE program. For more information, contact Madrid at (814) 865-3911 or rrm11@psu.edu.