This new project adds to the already operational Emerging Threat Center and enables purposeful collaboration to expand operational capabilities and enhance regional threat information sharing.

The project brings together electric utilities and partners from the energy sector to advance practices in cybersecurity threat sharing throughout the mid-South region of the country. The center鈥檚 goals focus on increasing workforce development, creating education and training for securing energy sector control systems, and advancing cybersecurity threat intelligence sharing practices.

鈥淭he energy sector, and electric utilities, in particular, are on the front lines when it comes to nation-state cybersecurity attacks,鈥� said Dr. Philip Huff, assistant professor of cybersecurity at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and principal investigator on the grant. 鈥淭hey are often among the first targeted because they provide critical services to society and are relied on by all other critical infrastructure sectors. It is especially important that we have cybersecurity protections for these services in place.鈥�

The project is supported with a $1 million award from the (CESER), and is endorsed by Sen. John Boozman.

鈥淭he new Emerging Threat Information Sharing and Analysis Center is an exceptional example of the collaboration needed to enhance energy security on a regional level in the United States,鈥� said Puesh Kumar, CESER director. 鈥淢y office is proud to support this effort to advance workforce development, training, and threat sharing capabilities, all of which are essential to our continued success in the face of ever-evolving cyber threats. I applaud the University of Arkansas Little Rock for involving students in this initiative as it presents a unique learning opportunity and supports the realization of a skilled cybersecurity workforce for the challenges of tomorrow.鈥�

鈥淭he Emerging Threat Information Sharing and Analysis Center will be an instrumental part of our national strategy to prevent cybersecurity breaches and attacks that have the potential to disrupt our lives,鈥� Sen. Boozman said. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud to support initiatives that strengthen the Natural State鈥檚 role in combating cyberthreats and prepare and train our workforce to help protect our information and secure our critical networks.鈥�

The center brings together a consortium of universities, cybersecurity experts, electric utilities, and energy sector partners through the Cybersecurity Consortium for Innovation (CCI), led by the Forge Institute. This project provides services for utilities and power system operators throughout the region, including the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, Arkansas Public Power Utilities, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Entergy, Midwest ISO, and Southwest Power Pool.

鈥淭his federal funding and collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, and other partners, enables thoughtful engagement, training, and capability development to support the needs of energy sector organizations, including municipally owned utilities,鈥� Forge Institute Chairman and CEO Lee Watson said. 鈥淥ur goal is to refine and improve a next-generation information sharing and analysis collaboration that will help critical infrastructure entities share information through a trusted community with a clear goal of being one step ahead of our adversaries providing enhanced situational awareness.鈥�

During a May 23 meeting of consortium partners, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale and Forge Institute signed on to a Memorandum of Understanding with the Idaho National Laboratory, a Department of Energy national laboratory and leading center for power grid cybersecurity resilience and nuclear energy research and development.

This agreement between Idaho National Laboratory and Forge Institute on behalf of CCI will result in collaboration for cybersecurity threat sharing and analysis, industrial cybersecurity labs for training and exercises and training and workforce development. This is the first time such an MOU has been signed between a state consortium and a national laboratory.

“This new center will be a perfect fit for the mission of this university to provide leading-edge experiential learning opportunities that give our students a career advantage,鈥� Drale said. 鈥淚t also fits well with our applied research mission to use our talent and expertise to address real life issues for everyone’s benefit.”

The center will build a pipeline of student researchers to develop innovations to defend against cyber threats. Ten students from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and the University of Arkansas will work with center members to conduct threat analysis.

Members of the center will develop and deploy energy sector control system simulations for community members to train and test defensive measures to enhance protection against cybersecurity and cyberattacks. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock will expand the Cyber Arena, a cloud-based cybersecurity education and training platform, to provide an online learning environment where community members can access these simulations on demand.

Additionally, the center will utilize a near-real-time threat correlation platform with the ability to detect patterns between threat intelligence reports and community member provided information. The platform will automate threat analysis tasks through artificial intelligence. The center will use this information to develop a cyber threat intelligence technology that will allow for broader cybersecurity threat sharing.

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In spite of a three-week delay, the April 25 event sold out for the first time in history, selling more than 1,060 tickets and drawing a record crowd. Additionally, the event raised more than $145,000 for student scholarships, the most in Taste of Little Rock history.

The event is also a celebration of the university鈥檚 annual Giving Day. The university broke its goal of raising half a million dollars during this year鈥檚 Giving Day, including securing a gift from every county in Arkansas and every state in the nation.

鈥淭his year鈥檚 event was a huge success, thanks to our dedicated board members and co-chairs, Loris Fullerton and Stephanie Caruthers, as well as the entire 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alumni and development staff,鈥� said Heide Harrell, president of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Alumni Board of Directors. 鈥淚t was wonderful to have so many community leaders and university supporters come together to raise money for the Alumni Association Scholarship Fund and honor the infamous James Bobo.鈥�

The event honored James Bobo as the night鈥檚 honoree. Bobo, who retired from Entergy in 2017, has a passion for his alma mater and has given back to support higher education in Arkansas. He served two terms on the Alumni Board of Directors and as a past president. He now serves on the Centennial Campaign Cabinet, helping to lead the university鈥檚 largest fundraising effort to raise $250 million by 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 centennial anniversary in 2027.

鈥淚t is awesome, wonderful, and breathtaking to see so many people come out for food, fun, fellowship, and a great time,鈥� Bobo said. 鈥淚 truly appreciate everyone who has come out to support the university and our students. What excites me the most is the money we are raising for scholarships for our students. That is what is near and dear to my heart, helping others, and especially our wonderful students who are working so hard to earn their college degrees.鈥�

Taste of Little Rock, originally scheduled for April 4, was delayed three weeks due to the destructive EF3 tornado that hit Central Arkansas on March 31 and impacted so many people in the community. In light of this, the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock community was more determined to support students in need than ever before.

“After we had to postpone because of the devastating tornado, it is a true blessing to be able to raise money for our student scholarships,鈥� said Loris Fullerton, co-chair of the Taste of Little Rock Committee. 鈥淥ur sponsors have been wonderful. We have a great crowd, and we are thrilled with tonight鈥檚 event. We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support and generosity from our community.”

Taste of Little Rock, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 highly anticipated culinary and social event, raises funds for the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Alumni Scholarship Fund, which provides thousands of scholarship dollars every year to deserving 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students. And Giving Day raises funds to support the Centennial Campaign pillars, which include scholarships, program excellence, student support, and the living and learning environments.

鈥淩aising money for student scholarships is what this event is all about,鈥� said Alfred Williams, co-chair of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Centennial Campaign Committee. 鈥淭he whole Centennial Campaign is all about providing the best education and future possible for our students.鈥�

Taste of Little Rock is an incredible gathering that showcases the diverse and delectable cuisine of the city’s most talented and innovative restaurant owners. This event provides an opportunity for the community to come together and savor the best flavors Little Rock has to offer while supporting an important cause.

The culinary extravaganza featured a wide variety of restaurants and caterers with selections to fill every palate. They included Afrobites, Andy鈥檚, Blue Cloud, Blue Coast Burrito, Burge鈥檚, Cantina Laredo, Chuy鈥檚, Chicken Salad Chick, Community Bakery, Delicious Temptations, Fazoli鈥檚, Kemuri, Happy鈥檚 Energy and Nutrition, Kreative Expressionz Catering, Kris and Sam鈥檚, Le Pops, Loblolly Ice Cream, Lost Forty Brewing, Mockingbird Bar and Tacos, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Rivera Italian Restaurant, Sauced Bar and Oven, SAP鈥檚 Creole Cuisine, Southern Glazer鈥檚, Red Moon Tavern, Smackey鈥檚, Taj Mahal, Whole Hog, Wright鈥檚 BBQ, and Zin Wine Bar.

鈥淚 think this event and the food variety is amazing,鈥� said Taste of Little Rock attendee Carson Vogelpohl. 鈥淚 am excited to try all the different kinds of delicious food. It鈥檚 really fabulous how many choices are available. You can see Little Rock with a fork.鈥�

Taste of Little Rock would not have been a success without the event鈥檚 dedicated sponsors. Gold Sponsors include Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Entergy, and Natural State Private Wealth Group. The night鈥檚 silver sponsors include Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, Garver, HoganTaylor, Loris and Jay Fullerton, Simmons Bank, Glazer鈥檚 Beer and Beverage, Stephanie and Brooks Caruthers, and USAble Life.

Rebecca Weaver, a senior human resources business partner with Southern Glazer鈥檚, said her company has been an avid supporter of Taste of Little Rock for more years than she could remember.

鈥淲e鈥檝e supported 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock for a long time,鈥� Weaver said. 鈥淲e love to see how our donations go to support student scholarships and help grow a great workforce for Arkansas. We hope 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 students will gain a great education and come work for us in the future.鈥�

Every gift made to the university through December 2026 will be a part of the Centennial Campaign, the university鈥檚 largest fundraising campaign in history.

To learn more or give, visit /giving/product/centennial-campaign/.

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