- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Receives $800K NSA Grant to Expand Cybersecurity Education, Standardize National Curriculum Guidelines

John Hill — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 13:55:30 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock, a leader in cybersecurity education, has received a nearly $800,000 grant from the National Security Agency (NSA) to expand a national cybersecurity education program for teachers, as well as develop a standardized curriculum to build pathways for cybersecurity education between high schools and colleges. Through the grant from the NSA National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity, “Cyber 1 Inauguration,” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, as the lead institution, will help expand the (NCTA), create a free cybersecurity education course for teachers, and update guidelines used to accredit college cybersecurity programs. “NCTA is an integral component of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s evolving ecosystem for cybersecurity education,” said Dr. Albert Baker, chair of the Department of Computer Science. “By providing Arkansas high school teachers with the expertise and professional credits to allow them to teach courses in the Arkansas Department of Education cybersecurity pathways, the Department of Computer Science is preparing the upcoming generation of students to pursue higher education in cybersecurity and launch successful careers in this burgeoning field. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is leading, with cooperation from numerous partners, in the development of cybersecurity programs and curricula in Arkansas higher education.” ��Vlog��ý Little will work with academic partners DePaul University and the University of Louisville as well as Dark Enterprises, a women-led nonprofit dedicated to advancing cybersecurity education. Dr. Philip Huff, assistant professor of cybersecurity, and Sandra Leiterman, managing director of the Cyber Arena, will serve as principal investigators. The NCTA was established in 2021 with a grant from the NSA National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity. The NCTA is a collaboration of 10 institutions in nine states that offer the first credentialing program for high school cybersecurity education in the country. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is one of only three universities in the country who offer the NCTA Teaching Cybersecurity Graduate Certificate, along with the University of Louisville and DePaul University. The Teaching Cybersecurity Graduate Certificate prepares high school teachers to offer advanced placement courses in cybersecurity. Teachers receive instruction in a nationally recognized cybersecurity curriculum and foundational cybersecurity principles. The grant will allow the NCTA to provide multiple offerings of its gateway course, Teaching Cybersecurity, at no cost to qualified applicants. Teachers will be able to take the free course for professional development credit. They will also have the option to complete a certification exam for transfer credit to any NCTA institution if they later decide to complete the graduate certificate program. Additionally, the NCTA will expand its 12-hour graduate certificate to 18 hours to meet state requirements that allow educators to teach concurrent credit courses in high school. In addition, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and its partners will work with the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) to launch a joint task force that will issue an interim update to the Cyber Security Education Consortium (CSEC) guidelines. These guidelines are used to accredit undergraduate cybersecurity programs through ABET, a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. They will also work to have the introductory High School Cybersecurity Curriculum Guidelines officially recognized by state educators, which will create a standardized curriculum and pathway between high school and college cybersecurity education courses. The grant will help to fill the workforce gap of qualified cybersecurity professionals that are needed to fill hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country. “The current institutions involved in the NCTA, including ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, are dedicated and passionate in working collaboratively to help advance cybersecurity education in the U.S.,” said Jenny Daughtery, research and curriculum lead at DARK Enterprises. “There is a tremendous need for qualified individuals entering the cybersecurity workforce. Cyberseek.org reports the workforce shortage in cybersecurity at 715,000. It is critical that we prepare more students to enter this much needed field that helps make cyberspace more secure and trustworthy for everyone. The NCTA Cyber I project will provide the glue between high school, community college, and 4-year universities providing well-defined pathways for interested students. And by preparing more teachers to teach cybersecurity, the NCTA will have an exponential effect on the number of students who gain exposure to this exciting, in-demand career.” In coordination with the Education Pathway National Center, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and its partners will work to expand the number of institutions that offer the NCTA graduate certificate. They will develop program guidelines and curriculum standards for new and existing NCTA institutions as well as develop guidelines and recommendations for concurrent course transfer and inter-college articulation agreements for the broad acceptance of the Cyber I courses offered by NCTA certified teachers. “When the NCTA started, the state of Arkansas provided scholarships for 60 teachers to earn the Teaching Cybersecurity Graduate Certificate. This is really unprecedented across the nation,” Huff said. “By standardizing the NCTA, we make it easy for other states to develop the same successful model that Arkansas has created. This ensures that more states can take the same path to educating cybersecurity teachers and having more students coming out of high school with cybersecurity credit who are ready to enter a cybersecurity degree or workforce development program.” The initial two-year grant comes with an option for a third year with an additional nearly $400,000 in funding, which would bring the total grant amount to nearly $1.2 million.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Awarded $1.96 Million Workforce Development Grant to Support a Regional Cyber Learning Network

John Hill — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 14:26:38 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received a $1.96 million workforce development grant to fund further development of the Cyber Learning Network (CyberLearN) – a regional cyber-learning partnership with six other schools in the University of Arkansas System to address Arkansas’s talent gap in cybersecurity. The CyberLearN partners include ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, ��Vlog��ý Pine Bluff, ��Vlog��ý – Pulaski Technical College, ��Vlog��ý Cossatot, ��Vlog��ý Hope-Texarkana, ��Vlog��ýCC Batesville, and ��Vlog��ýCC Morrilton. The Forge Institute, the Arkansas Center for Data Sciences, and SmartResume are also collaborating on the initiative. Gov. Asa Hutchinson awarded a total of $7.9 million in Large-Scale Workforce Development Grants to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and eight other organizations during a March 15 press conference at the Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce. The grants were funded by the , a division of the Arkansas Department of Commerce. “We don’t have an unlimited source of funds in Arkansas for workforce training, so we want to invest it wisely,” Gov. Hutchinson said. “And you do that by partnering with industry to guide our training, our funding, so that it results in jobs.” CyberLearN leverages shared resources for the purposes of expanding and diversifying cyber workforce education in Arkansas. The consortium will provide more equitable access to cybersecurity education for Arkansas learners, aligning freshman and sophomore cybersecurity curriculum with ABET, a national accreditation board, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology Standards. CyberLearN partners will share instruction and create a common learning experience through standardized, hybrid-flexible learning spaces that will utilize the cloud-based . “��Vlog��ý Little Rock is proud to lead in creating the Cyber Learning Network, which will put Arkansas on the map for cybersecurity workforce education,” said Dr. Erin Finzer, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. “This new consortium among academic and nonprofit partners will serve as a model to provide collaborative education and training opportunities across the state. We thank Gov. Hutchinson and the Office of Skills Development for this investment in Arkansas’s economic security and for providing our state with cyber talent for many years to come.” CyberLearN will drive economic development opportunities by providing robust talent pathways and creating opportunities to spur creative innovations. Arkansas currently has more than 3,000 unfilled cybersecurity positions listed on LinkedIn, and that number is expected to continue to grow. Now that Arkansas’s broadband initiatives have provided more internet access across the state, there are more opportunities for cybersecurity professionals to work remotely, which can provide a boost for rural communities. The workforce development grant builds on the commitment and spirit of last year’s ��Vlog��ý System announcement of a $900,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) to boost the state’s statewide workforce recovery from the economic impact of COVID-19 growth through the creation of the ��Vlog��ý System Workforce Response and Training Center. That grant included nine ��Vlog��ý System institutions, led by the Arkansas Economic Development Institute (AEDI) at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, to collect and analyze statewide workforce data and use outcomes to provide existing and bolstered education and training efforts through all seven of the ��Vlog��ý System’s two-year colleges, along with two colleges of technology at the University of Arkansas at Monticello (��Vlog��ýM). “This is a shining example of the synergy that’s possible by harnessing ��Vlog��ý System resources in a collaborative and innovative fashion to continue bolstering the growth of a world-class, highly skilled workforce in Arkansas,” said Chris Thomason, vice president for planning and development for the ��Vlog��ý System. “When we’re able to pool the resources and talent within the ��Vlog��ý System close to Arkansas citizens and in our communities, the momentum that’s created can have a much larger impact on the state’s economic growth and within Arkansas families.” In order to support this economic and workforce development potential, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and its academic partners are providing stackable certificates, which are a set of professional credentials that can be stacked into more advanced certificate and degree programs or may be earned by Arkansas workers wishing to upskill or reskill. Stackable certificates are an innovative way for institutions of higher education to serve working students by providing them with distinct skill sets and manageable motivators on their way to a two-year or four-year degree. “COVID has changed a lot of how we operate in higher education, and this program shows a positive adaptation in meeting the needs of today’s learners,” said Dr. Philip Huff, assistant professor of cybersecurity at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “The workforce needed in cybersecurity is so great right now, and we can’t simply tell the industry to wait four more years for us to provide you with a pipeline of talent when they need it yesterday. These stackable certificates address the immediate need, and also open up new academic paths if a student chooses to continue their education.” The certificate programs, the first of which is pending approval for the Fall 2022 semester, include two certificates of proficiency in cybersecurity fundamentals that “stack” into a technical certificate and associate degree. By completing these foundational certificates, learners will be ready to enroll in upper-level specialized certificates in areas like data security, digital forensics, cybersecurity operations, and software security. These certificates are designed to provide college students and workers with a road to lifelong learning with personalized pathways to learn skills that meet both learner and employer needs. “Higher education should seize every viable opportunity to increase efficiency in the delivery of educational services contributing to workforce education. CyberLearN is exactly this kind of opportunity,” Dr. Albert Baker, chair of the Department of Computer Science at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “It has been, and continues to be, energizing to collaborate on this opportunity to build efficiencies in the development of the Arkansas workforce in the emerging and evermore critically important cybersecurity industry.” While ��Vlog��ý System campuses will provide space and construction and renovation costs for the training operation centers, the grant will provide computer equipment and supplies, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Cyber Arena cloud access for all students, curriculum and instructional design, and tuition and fees for 100 new learners. An additional eight more scholarships will go to instructors from two-year colleges to earn ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s new graduate certificate in cybersecurity education in an effort to expand the cybersecurity teacher workforce in the state. Dr. Steve Cole, chancellor of ��Vlog��ý Cossatot, said one of his biggest worries is how to combat the cyber-attacks that are happening all around the world. This new partnership with CyberLearN will bring education and training opportunities directly to ��Vlog��ý Cossatot and other two-year colleges across the state. Having a skilled workforce that can respond to cyber threats will ensure a resilient economy in Arkansas. “Cybercrime just doesn’t touch large corporations, it even touches the small business owner with one employee,” Cole said. “To combat cybercrime, we must build a workforce of cybersecurity experts, and CyberLearN seeks to address this huge skills gap. Community colleges like ours find it extremely difficult sometimes to start new, technology-rich programs due to the high costs involved and the lack of available instruction, but a collaborative effort like CyberLearN allows us to tap into the talent at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and the Forge Institute to offer cybersecurity programming in our rural area. I am confident that, without this effort it would be difficult to offer a world-class program like this to many rural parts of the state like ours.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Will Offer Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity Education Through National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy

John Hill — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:43:50 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received a $750,000 grant from the , located within the National Security Agency, and will be one of the first universities in the country to offer a graduate certificate in cybersecurity education through the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy. The National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy is a collaboration of 10 institutions in nine states that will offer the first credentialing program for high school cybersecurity education in the country. The inaugural program will prepare 90 high school teachers to teach an advanced cybersecurity course. “Providing these educational resources to our partners at the secondary level strengthens our fight against cyber crime while attracting more students into a reliable and exciting career pipeline,” said Chancellor Christina Drale. “The demand for cybersecurity professionals shows no sign of slowing down as more businesses become increasingly dependent on technology.” Teachers who are accepted into the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy will receive funding covering tuition for the 12-credit hour virtual graduate certificate. Teachers who complete the academy will also have the option to complete six additional credit hours that will certify them to teach dual/concurrent enrollment cybersecurity courses. The National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy is an excellent fit with Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s and the Arkansas Department of Education’s efforts to make K-12 computer science education a priority. “With the increasingly complex cyberthreats our nation has endured and will continue to face, it is the responsibility of our state and schools to produce students prepared to defend our systems against those threats,” said Anthony Owen, state director of computer science education at the Arkansas Department of Education. “��Vlog��ý Little Rock has remained a great partner to the Arkansas Computer Science and Computing Initiative since it was started by Governor Hutchinson in 2015. The announcement of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock team seeking out and being awarded a federal grant which will provide cybersecurity training to Arkansas high school teachers is another example of their continued and innovative commitment to the initiative, our educators, and students of Arkansas.” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is one of only three universities in the country who will offer the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy, along with the University of Louisville and DePaul University. Each university has a regional college and community college partner who will help with curriculum development and teacher recruitment. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s partners are California State University, Sacramento and Estrella Mountain Community College. “This is a great opportunity for high school teachers,” said Philip Huff, assistant professor of cybersecurity at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “They will get experience in a new subject where expert knowledge is required. Teachers who complete the academy will come back with real-world experience in teaching cybersecurity classes, an in-depth understanding of cybersecurity, and great materials for their future courses. The program will help teachers provide students with opportunities in one of the fastest growing careers in the country.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students demonstrate the universitys cloud-based cybersecurity lab, the Cyber Arena. Photo by Ben Krain.

The academy’s partner institutions will also work with DARK Enterprises, a nonprofit that specializes in cybersecurity education at the secondary education level. The coalition will provide opportunities to build pathways toward dual/concurrent enrollment and 2+2 programs with high schools. The graduate certificate program is grounded in the High School Cybersecurity Curriculum Guidelines, the development of which was pioneered by DARK Enterprises and the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation. This will move high school cybersecurity education toward a more standardized body of knowledge to build courses and pathways. The first cohort of the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy will begin with an Introduction to Cybersecurity Education course in the spring 2022 semester followed by six credit hours during summer 2022. In their second summer, teachers will study the working environment for cybersecurity professionals and complete a practicum with local industry partners to gain real-world experience. Cybersecurity remains one of the most in-demand careers in the country. This new graduate certificate will help fill the gap for cybersecurity professionals in the state. “Cybersecurity is a rapidly growing field, in which the need for qualified employees is far outpacing the number of available candidates,” said Sandra Leiterman, managing director of the Cyber Arena. “One way to address this shortage is by increasing awareness and interest in cybersecurity by providing high school students with the fundamental knowledge they need in order to pursue a career in cybersecurity. The National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy will help to bridge the gap between the job demand and the size of the workforce needed to fill the vacancies.”�� People may register to receive more information , or contact Jenny Daugherty at jenny.daugherty@darkenterprisesinc.com for questions about the program.

U.S. News and World Report Recognizes ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for Social Mobility

John Hill — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 13:05:38 +0000

Several academic programs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have made the grade by earning a spot in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 Best College Rankings. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s top ranking came for #143 in Social Mobility – National Universities. The university has risen 48 spots since last year. U.S. News and World Report also previously ranked ��Vlog��ý Little Rock as the top university in Arkansas for social mobility. The ranking measures a university’s success in graduating economically disadvantaged students who are less likely to finish college. “Helping our students advance involves offering more than excellent academic programming,” said Chancellor Christina Drale. “We have intentionally developed resources and expanded services to support students in the transition from classroom to career. Improving our ranking in social mobility reflects a concrete measure of our focused attention on student success.” The social mobility indicator measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants. Students receiving these grants typically come from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 annually, though most Pell Grant money goes to students with a total family income below $20,000. The social mobility ranking was computed by assessing Pell Grant graduation rates and Pell Grant graduate rate performance. At ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, 39 percent of undergraduate students from the fall 2021 semester are Pell Grant recipients, and 55 percent of undergraduate students with known generation status are first-generation students. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s student body is the most diverse of any college or university in Arkansas. About 45 percent of the student population reports to be in a minority population, two or more races, or international. U.S. News rankings are widely recognized as symbols of excellence in higher education that are conferred by an unbiased trust agent. With more than 15 measures of academic quality, the U.S. News 2022 Best Colleges report provides data-driven information and guidance to help prospective students and their families understand their higher education options.�� Vlog��ý Little Rock’s in U.S. News and World Report 2022 Best College Rankings include:

Best Undergraduate Nursing #148
Best Undergraduate Business #212
Best Undergraduate Computer Science #252

The School of Nursing, the university’s largest undergraduate program, has a variety of well-respected undergraduate degree programs, including the Student to RN, Student to BSN, Online RN to BSN, and LPN/Paramedic to RN. The online RN to BSN program was ranked the best in the state this year for the second year in a row by RegisteredNursing.org.

Senior nursing students in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock School of Nursing prepare for transition to practice by participating in an Emergency Room simulation in the Center for Simulation Innovation. Photo by Ben Krain.��

“We are very proud of our faculty, staff, and students at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock School of Nursing to gain recognition with U.S. News and World Report, a gold-standard in rankings,” said Dr. Sloan Davidson, director of the School of Nursing at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Many innovative learning opportunities are happening in the School of Nursing.” The School of Business serves as a catalyst to advance education and economic development in the state of Arkansas. It is home to the Arkansas Economic Development Institute, the state’s lead Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, the State Farm Business Skills Lab, and the Kenneth Pat Wilson Center for Economic Education. “We are honored to be recognized as a top undergraduate program in business,” said Dr. Robert Mitchell, director of the School of Business at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Our business graduates are well equipped to become excellent employees and help grow the Arkansas business industry to its potential.” The Department of Computer Science, initially accredited in 1990 and the first Computer Science program accredited in the state, offers a minor in information insurance, a bachelor’s degree in computer science with an option that focuses on games,�� a master’s degree in computer science, and a Ph.D. in computer and information science. The department also welcomed its first cybersecurity majors this fall in a new bachelor’s degree program that prepares students for one of the fastest growing careers in the world. “The department’s areas of opportunity for our students enable undergraduate students to participate in projects outside the classroom,” said Dr. Al Baker, chair of the Department of Computer Science. “These areas include cybersecurity, virtual and augmented reality, data visualization, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and mobile, smart systems, and software for IoT (Internet of Things). These opportunities in an ABET-accredited degree program make ��Vlog��ý Little Rock an outstanding place to study computer science.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Cybersecurity Summit for junior high and high school students

John Hill — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 16:00:36 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host a virtual event for junior high and high school students who want to learn more about the rapidly growing field of cybersecurity.�� The free Cybersecurity Summit event is open to any students in grades 6-12 and will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Students will hear from a panel of cybersecurity experts about what it’s like to work in one of the most in-demand careers. Participants will also hear about educational opportunities in cybersecurity at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and ��Vlog��ý-Pulaski Technical College. “The Cybersecurity Summit is one way ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and the Department of Computer Science are introducing young people in the state to this exciting, in-demand area,” said Dr. Albert Baker, interim chair of the Department of Computer Science. “Our national security and the security of our institutions are increasingly dependent on our cybersecurity workforce.” Students will also get the opportunity to conduct a hands-on cyber attack simulation with the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Cyber Gym, an education laboratory for cybersecurity learning. The winner will receive a Cyber Gym hoodie! “The summit is a great opportunity for students who are interested in cybersecurity as a potential career, who want to learn more about the field in general, or would like to test their skills with a fun and challenging cybersecurity work out in the Cyber Gym,” said Sandra Leiterman, managing director of the Cyber Gym. The field of computer science is growing more important in Arkansas. A 2015 measure Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed into law requires every public high school to offer computer science. Earlier this month, the Arkansas Computer Science and Cybersecurity Task Force that the state require a credit in computer science in order to graduate high school and that every public high school have a computer science teacher. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock has a new bachelor’s degree program in cybersecurity that begins in the fall 2021 semester. Now is a great time for students to consider cybersecurity as a career since there is a high demand for cybersecurity professionals with a high starting salary. “October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and Arkansas students need to know about the great opportunities available in this career field,” Baker said. “The average starting salary for an entry-level cybersecurity job in the U.S. is $73,000. The need is critical and the career opportunities tremendous.” Students who would like to attend the Cybersecurity Summit can fill out to register.

Computer Science, Information Science programs earn continued ABET accreditation at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

John Hill — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 16:01:21 +0000

Two undergraduate programs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Donaghey College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics earned reaccreditation this fall. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Bachelor of Science degree programs in computer science and information science received reaccreditation from the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, the recognized global accreditor of college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. The reaccreditation status is good through Sept. 30, 2026. “Accreditation is an external evaluation of the quality of our programs,” said Dr. Lawrence Whitman, dean of the Donaghey College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. “The process by ABET is rigorous, and I am thankful for the hard work put in by the chairs, faculty, and students to ensure the continuous improvement and quality in the curricula, resulting in the successful reaccreditation of the two programs.” Reaccreditation is a voluntary, peer-reviewed process that evaluates many factors, including curriculum, educational facilities, institutional support, faculty expertise, student performance, and outcomes. Many employers require degrees from accredited programs for employment in certain technical fields. The Department of Computer Science initially accredited in 1990 and the first Computer Science program accredited in the state, houses seven faculty members, 216 undergraduate students, and 23 graduate students. Additionally, the department offers a master’s degree in computer science and a Ph.D. in computer and information science. “Accreditation of undergraduate degree programs by ABET reinforces the confidence prospective, current, and graduating students can have in the B.S. in Computer Science program,” said Dr. Albert Baker, interim chair of the Department of Computer Science. “The department’s areas of opportunity for our students enable undergraduate students to participate in projects outside the classroom. These areas include cybersecurity, virtual and augmented reality, data visualization, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and mobile, smart systems, and software for IoT (Internet of Things). These opportunities in an ABET-accredited degree program make ��Vlog��ý Little Rock an outstanding place to study computer science.” The Department of Information Science has 13 faculty members, 145 undergraduate students, and 178 graduate students. Additionally, the department offers a bachelor’s degree in web design and development, an information technology minor, and graduate certificates in information quality and data science, as well as a master’s degree and doctorate in bioinformatics, information quality, and information science. “We are committed to keeping our curriculum academically solid and current with today’s computing careers,” said Dr. Elizabeth Pierce, chair of the Department of Information Science. “Since the web has become the major platform for how people and organizations work with their data, we have constructed our degree plan around what we see as the three main interacting themes that characterize the information science field: its interdisciplinary nature, the information systems, and cloud technologies that support the information life cycle, and how to better serve the people and organizations that need to derive insights from their data.”

Springer named director of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Emerging Analytics Center

John Hill — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 20:42:20 +0000

Dr. Jan P. Springer, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, has been named the new director of the George W. Donaghey Emerging Analytics Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The Emerging Analytics Center (EAC) is a research center that is home to an energetic group of researchers, faculty, and students performing innovative research and development in technology, infrastructure, and applications for virtual and augmented realities, immersive visualization, interactive technologies, as well as cybersecurity and the Internet of Things. The center was founded thanks to a generous grant from the George W. Donaghey Foundation. Its mission is to be a focus of applied research expertise and technology development in the areas of immersive and interactive visualization for complex and big data applied to problems in industry, government, and research organizations. “In the last year, the EAC generated a revenue of about $5 million in all of our projects,” Springer said. “We have many students who are conducting innovative research and we are an economic factor at the university. Many people in the city look at the EAC as a benchmark in regard to the university.” Springer is taking over for Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, now a professor of computer science at the University of Central Florida. Under Dr. Springer’s leadership, research and industry projects in the Emerging Analytics Center will focus on four areas: immersive visualization, multimodal augmented reality/virtual reality applications, cybersecurity, and Internet of Things. As the director of the Emerging Analytics Center, he manages approximately 45 student researchers, from undergraduates to Ph.D. students, as well as four full-time employees. Additionally, the EAC supports six faculty fellows. “Research is not just sitting around reading papers and developing interesting ideas. It’s also about developing talented people,” Springer said. “My intention for students in the Emerging Analytics Center is to experience a professional environment for research and development. It is part of the mission of the EAC to show students the many opportunities available in this area, even if they don’t go into research, working here gives them a good idea of what to expect in their professional career.” Dr. Albert Baker, chair of the Department of Computer Science, said Springer’s leadership of the Emerging Analytics Center will be an asset in taking the EAC to the next level. “Dr. Springer is an accomplished research scientist in the areas of real-time graphics, virtual and augmented realities, and data visualization,” Baker said. “We are very fortunate to have Jan as a member of the faculty in the department. In his additional role as the director of the EAC, Jan is enhancing the strategy of having the EAC support both students and faculty from the department in several exciting areas of research, including VR/AR and cybersecurity. The health and growth of the department and the EAC are intimately intertwined. I am appreciating the opportunity to work with Jan in his new role and continuing to strengthen the EAC and the department.” Springer joined the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty in 2018, after spending the past six years as an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. His previous experiences include working as a research scientist with the CREATE group at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the Virtual Reality Systems Group at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, and the former VR Research group at the Fraunhofer IMK, the latter two in his native Germany. Springer holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in computer science from Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. His work includes virtual-reality systems for modeling and simulation in areas such as cluster-based displays, multi-viewer stereo, software frameworks, and interactive high-quality rendering.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to offer new bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity

John Hill — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 16:02:20 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is introducing a new four-year degree program in cybersecurity in the fall 2021 semester to help meet the rising demand for cybersecurity professionals.�� The Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity will prepare students for challenging and rewarding careers dedicated to protecting the privacy of individuals, the security of society’s infrastructure, and national security. Graduates will be prepared for positions in high-demand fields, including security architect, digital forensics analyst, security systems administrator, and security analyst. “The Department of Computer Science has been actively involved in research and teaching in cybersecurity and information assurance for about 10 years,” said Dr. Albert Baker, interim chair of the Department of Computer Science. “The addition of a B.S. in cybersecurity is an exciting evolution of the department’s commitment to this aspect of national security. We are coordinating with the Arkansas Department of Education, representatives from Arkansas military contingents, and area industry leaders in the development of this program. Graduates of this program will be protecting all aspects of our digital lives.” The new degree program will attract more government and industry jobs to the region, while helping to fill a growing need for more trained cybersecurity professionals. The estimates that there will be 1.8 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2022. “Cybersecurity is a part of the daily lives of corporations, governments, and, now with many working from home, a part of our home lives,” said Dr. Lawrence Whitman, dean of the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology. “Our outstanding faculty are able to provide cutting edge classes and equip the cybersecurity professionals of the future. I look forward to the first graduates of this program.” With the recent rise of people working at home as well as the rise in unemployment across the country, cybersecurity is more important than ever to protect online security as well as a great option for adults looking to learn new skills in a growing field. “The studies show an expected deficit of millions of jobs in cybersecurity around the world,” said Philip Huff, assistant professor of computer science and coordinator of the cybersecurity program. “The regional need for cybersecurity professionals is strong, and it’s not something that can be easily outsourced. The workforce needs far exceed the capacity of universities to prepare enough graduates to fill the need for cybersecurity jobs. Every university is and should be looking at how to prepare students to be competitive in the cybersecurity arena.” Students will also have the opportunity to work in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Cyber Gym, a state-of-the-art, cloud-based lab that provides a scalable, accessible, and almost no-cost cybersecurity curriculum for high school students in Arkansas.

Philip Huff, left, and Sandra Leiterman, right, head the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Cyber Gym. Photo by Ben Krain.

“Philip Huff and the cyber team at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock have been great to work with,” said Lee Watson, CEO and founder of the Forge Institute as well as a member of the state’s Computer Science and Cybersecurity Task Force. “The Cyber Gym is a next-generation academic training program that will help prepare Arkansas students for much needed, high-paying jobs in cybersecurity.” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock has partnered with the Forge Institute to create workforce development and research opportunities as well as to provide internship opportunities for college students. “��Vlog��ý Little Rock and The American Cyber Alliance powered by Forge Institute are building some best practices that can be replicated across Arkansas, our region, and nation,” Watson said. “Collaboration in operational research is opening doors for a variety of opportunities. These efforts in training and operations will help better position our companies and our State to defend against growing adversarial threats.” The new degree also builds upon Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s emphasis on computer science in K-12 education. Students who had the opportunity to take computer science classes for years are now entering college and eager to continue their studies in a challenging and engaging curriculum. “Undergraduate students being able to do research on computer science and computing technologies, such as with Phillip Huff at the Cyber Gym and their Cybersecurity Program, is really something that should promote institutions like ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and their programs above those that are not doing research, that are not engaging in those activities that give their students a meaningful reason for the work they’re doing,” said Anthony Owen, state director of computer science at the Arkansas Department of Education. “It’s really the difference between the theoretical approach to computer science education that I received versus a hands-on and applicable approach to teaching computer science and its important concepts.”

��Vlog��ý Little to develop free cybersecurity curriculum for Arkansas high school students through new partnership with Arkansas Department of Education

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 18:28:49 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will help create a free cybersecurity curriculum for Arkansas high school students as part of a new partnership announced Dec. 9 at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s College of Engineering and Information Technology.�� The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) Office of Computer Science will partner with ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, the Arch Ford Education Service Cooperative’s Virtual Arkansas division, and the University of Central Arkansas to develop a three-year cybersecurity curriculum and course pathway. This curriculum, which is set to begin in the 2020-21 school year, will support teachers and students through increasingly rigorous and relevant cybersecurity concepts leading to more Arkansas students being prepared for industry recognized certifications and to enter post-secondary cybersecurity programs. To support this partnership, ADE is providing $94,500. The grant is part of Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s coding initiative, which is funded with a $2.5 million annual commitment by the Arkansas State Legislature. “Once again, Arkansas’s educational institutions are demonstrating their commitment to providing our students with high quality educational opportunities that will prepare them for the job market they will soon be entering into,” Gov. Hutchinson said. “As our state moves forward in our computer science and computing initiative, we will remain focused on preparing our students for the high paying and open career opportunities that are out there like those in cybersecurity.” Arch Ford Education Service cooperative will subgrant $25,000 to the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Computer Science and the Emerging Analytics Center to facilitate CyberGym existing module expansion and refinement and new module development as approved by the ADE Office of Computer Science.�� Vlog��ý Little Rock’s new CyberGym, an education and simulation model laboratory for cybersecurity learning hosted on the cloud, will provide educational materials for the first two years of the high school cybersecurity classes. The third-year curriculum will be provided by UCA’s Cyber Range. “The CyberGym has been developed by the faculty in computer science along with the team in the Emerging Analytics Center as a set of modules on a broad range of cybersecurity concepts that school teachers and students can then access to enhance their classroom experience,” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale said. “With our partners here today, we are providing for all Arkansas K-12 schools a curriculum pipeline in cybersecurity that will provide the skills students need to be prepared for industry recognized certifications and to be prepared to enter post-secondary cybersecurity programs. Preparing Arkansas students for the jobs of tomorrow provides unlimited pathways for their futures.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty members and students now work in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s CyberGym. Photo by Ben Krain.

Arch Ford will subgrant an additional $25,000 to the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Computer Science and the Emerging Analytics Center to provide payments to qualified work-study students to provide technical support and content development to Arkansas educators accessing the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock CyberGym system. Dr. Albert Baker, interim chair of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Department of Computer Science, said that more cybersecurity students are needed to fill the state’s growing demand for this high-paying field. Average starting salaries for cybersecurity jobs run from $90,000 to $125,000. With nearly 5,000 cybersecurity jobs in Arkansas, there are more than 1,000 that remain unfilled, Baker said. The new cybersecurity curriculum will be comprised of at least three courses that will provide students instruction in fundamental computer science; introductory through advanced cyber security concepts; online cybersecurity CyberGym modules using the power of Google’s cloud computing services; cybersecurity analyst and specialist tools; and relevant industry identified skills and knowledge expected in the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.�� These courses will be aligned to the ADE Information Security, ADE Advanced Information Security, and National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) standards and will support the students completing the pathway in being prepared to take and pass at least one industry recognized higher level cyber security certification (I.E., CompTIA’s Networking Plus, CompTIA’s Security Plus, CompTIA CySA+) and other interim certifications (I.E., CompTIA’s A+, Microsoft Technology Associate certifications) as deemed appropriate and approved by the Arkansas Department of Education. The courses will also be aligned to the NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework,a national-focused resource that categorizes and describes cybersecurity work. “The greatest cyber-threat to national security is K-12 education,” said Kevin Nolten, director of Academic Outreach for the Cyber Innovation Center and the National Integrated Cyber Education Research Center. “Our responsibility as a state and as educators is to align both standards and curricula to cyber-based workforce roles to ensure that students are graduating high school with not only an awareness of cyber but the knowledge, skills and abilities to close the workforce gap that exists in cyber.”�� The ADE Office of Computer Science will collaborate with Virtual Arkansas and an ADE Office of Computer Science approved team of curriculum writers to develop the curriculum, which will include all the resources needed for a beginning computer science teacher to appropriately instruct students in this high-quality content by Aug. 1, 2020.�� Virtual Arkansas will assign a teacher and provide all courses developed under this agreement through its digital delivery platform beginning in the 2020-21 school year. Virtual Arkansas will also provide this curriculum for all courses in “content only” format at no charge to the school, the teachers, or the students. Virtual Arkansas will update the virtually delivered and “content only” curriculum as necessary in accordance with the ADE Information Security and NICE standards.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students provide computer training to Arkansas Secretary of State employees

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 19:59:46 +0000

Three computer science students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have used their tech-savvy skills to provide computer training to employees at the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office this fall. The venture began this fall when Kerry Moody, director of communications and education for the Secretary of State’s office, contacted Dr. Albert Baker, interim chair of the Department of Computer Science and advisor to the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) student chapter at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.�� “Our Chief of Staff, Deputy Dwight Southerland, was interested in providing our staff the opportunity to participate in specialized computer training,” Moody said. “He tasked me with finding the right program, and after doing a bit of research, I realized that we needed to reach out to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. I received a call back from Professor Al Baker and knew immediately that we would be able to make something work with his team of students.”�� Three ACM members created a computer training program and provided five three-hour workshops over the course of five weeks to 20 employees at the Secretary of State’s office. The students include Denver Ellis, a sophomore from Parin, Arkansas; John Clements, a senior from Little Rock; and Gaige Ehrenworth, a sophomore from Royal, Arkansas.�� “John, Denver, and Gaige exhibited the level of professionalism expected of IT professionals at any level,” Baker said. “That these members of the student chapter of the ACM provided this excellent service to an office of Arkansas state government exemplifies the kind of cooperation with the Arkansas IT community encouraged by the Department of Computer Science at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.”�� Ehrenworth served as the main instructor during classes, while Ellis and Clements assisted students one-on-one during their class projects. Ehrenworth enjoyed the leadership experience he gained during the training.�� “This was the first time that I got to be the head of a project for the ACM, and it was the first time that I provided a service like this to people in the community,” Ehrenworth said. “There was a lot of hard work involved, but it was a very rewarding experience overall.”��

��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate students, standing from top left, John Clements, light blue, Denver Ellis, plaid, and Gaige Ehrenworth, black shirt, teach a Microsoft Office training class to employees of the Secretary of State’s Office. The students are members of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Association of Computing Machinery club. Photo by Ben Krain.

Moody said that those who attended the workshop were excited to learn new things. Even those who weren’t expecting to learn much were surprised by the knowledge they picked up.�� “Our staff here at the Secretary of State’s office enjoyed the training and were pleasantly surprised with learning so much. Gaige, Denver, and John were great at helping everyone throughout the process. They definitely knew the programs and were able to share with our employees lots of functional information. Gaige, Denver, and John truly knew how to walk through each program and provide practical tips that everyone could use in the office.”�� Clements said ACM members are excited about opportunities that allow the club to become more in the community. The club shut down five years ago, but restarted one year ago with active members who are excited to get involved.�� “This workshop fulfilled one of our club’s purposes, which is to provide professional development activities to the community,” Clements said. “We do many other community events. I’ve taught a workshop on game development for high school teachers. Our members are also involved in game jams and hackathon competitions.” The workshops served as a pilot program for the ACM. With its initial success, the ACM hopes to offer more workshops in the future.�� “Everyone took something away from the workshops that they will use in their work,” Ellis said. “The ability to teach one-on-one is something that I am very passionate about. I love to tutor, and this provided a new outlet that was beneficial to a lot of people.”�� The Secretary of State’s office plans to be the first to sign up for new workshops.�� “We enjoyed our training, and the staff that were unable to participate this time would like to in the spring,” Moody said. “We were able to interact with three kind, outgoing, and intelligent young men, and they were able to visit with a diverse group of civil servants.�� I think it was a positive eye-opening experiment for all of us. Our office looks forward to working with them again in the future.”

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Receives $800K NSA Grant to Expand Cybersecurity Education, Standardize National Curriculum Guidelines

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Awarded $1.96 Million Workforce Development Grant to Support a Regional Cyber Learning Network

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Will Offer Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity Education Through National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy

U.S. News and World Report Recognizes ����Vlog��ý Little Rock for Social Mobility

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Cybersecurity Summit for junior high and high school students

Computer Science, Information Science programs earn continued ABET accreditation at ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

Springer named director of ����Vlog��ý Little Rock Emerging Analytics Center

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to offer new bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity

����Vlog��ý Little to develop free cybersecurity curriculum for Arkansas high school students through new partnership with Arkansas Department of Education

����Vlog��ý Little Rock students provide computer training to Arkansas Secretary of State employees