The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) has successfully concluded its Cybersecurity Faculty Development Program, which commenced in February 2022. This program aimed to provide opportunities and resources for the education, training, and professional growth of cybersecurity faculty members.
Funded by a grant from the National Security Agency (NSA), the initiative was a collaborative effort involving several universities nationwide. UCCS partnered with institutions including Moraine Valley Community College, Sinclair College, State University of New York/Albany, Tennessee Technical University, University of Alabama, Huntsville, and University of West Florida.
Gretchen Bliss, Director of Cybersecurity Programs, emphasized the program’s significance, stating, « The UCCS Faculty Development Grant is critical to growing the cybersecurity teaching acumen of college-level professors and educators across the nation. » The collaboration with partner colleges and universities enabled the training of more than 400 educators on crucial cybersecurity topics such as Cloud Security, Data Privacy, Cybersecurity Law, Cyber Physical Systems, Cyber and Space, Embedded Systems Cybersecurity, and AI & Cybersecurity. These topics reflect the importance of keeping cybersecurity education current and interdisciplinary, as it has relevance across all career fields and industries.
Since the program’s inception, UCCS and its partner institutions have successfully delivered 39 semester-long cybersecurity education courses. Moreover, they have implemented 77 short-term cybersecurity faculty development initiatives, which encompassed boot camps, training sessions, online courses, and, most recently, fourteen workshops. These workshops covered diverse topics such as Cybersecurity Law, AI and Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, and more, with most events experiencing high demand and selling out. More than 400 faculty members received education and training during these initiatives, with some workshops offering Continuing Education Credits.
Another valuable offering was the « Pedagogical Preparation for Professors of Practice » program, which featured monthly webinars designed for faculty members aspiring to teach cybersecurity at the college and university level. This program provided mentorship, career guidance, and a placement program for individuals seeking roles in cybersecurity education in higher education. Topics covered included interviewing skills, Curriculum Vitae (CV) development, and other practical tools to support job searches in cybersecurity education.
In addition to faculty development, the program provided training for 469 graduate students and secured $620,000 in Graduate/Post-Graduate Cyber Education scholarships. These scholarships benefited 124 of the 469 students, enabling them to enroll in cybersecurity programs at participating universities. The goal is to advance their education in cybersecurity and prepare them for future roles as cybersecurity educators at higher education institutions.
Gretchen Bliss served as the Lead Principal Investigator of the grant and led the coalition alongside Terri Johnson, Co-Principal Investigator and Instructor of Cybersecurity Management. Over the course of the grant’s duration, a total of more than 2,150 educators were impacted through upskilling or reskilling to teach cybersecurity, contributing significantly to the enhancement of cybersecurity education nationwide.
We have included content from the official UCSS website, specifically from their news article titled ‘UCCS recently concluded their Cybersecurity Faculty Development Program.’ Any similarities in content or structure between this article and the UCSS news piece are intentional.