The NSA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have named SMU a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance/Cyber Defense Education through 2021.
The organizations jointly sponsor the National Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE) program, whose goal is to reduce vulnerability in national information infrastructure by promoting higher education and research, and producing a growing pipeline of professionals with information assurance expertise in various disciplines.
Department chair Suku Nair is excited about the designation and what it means for the future of the school. The label is a goal that the department has been working toward.
“We have built this program and now we want to go to the next level,” said Nair.
Along with the prestige of the designation come scholarship and funding opportunities. Universities earning the designation emphasize faculty efforts in improving IA/CD scholarship, professional development and instructional capabilities.
Many companies look for the title when deciding which schools their employees should attend. This makes SMU a destination for the numerous organizations in the area in need of curriculum that meets national standards.
“We may have the largest concentration of different contracting companies outside the D.C. area and all these companies need cyber security,” said Nair. “They want to make sure the curriculum is conforming to the standards of the NSA. It’s good publicity because NSA itself announces the list of schools.”
The Computer Science and Engineering Department in SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering strives to educate a generation of leaders to build critical cyber systems, applications and networks, and research significant challenges and opportunities within the industry.
Lyle School Dean Marc Christensen is delighted with the designation, which was first awarded to SMU in 2006.
“We are pleased that this designation confirms the alignment of our efforts with national priorities in cyber security,” he said.
Dr. Nair believes that Lyle will continue on the upward path with the addition of the Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security.
“The Lyle School’s Computer Science and Engineering department has long been at the forefront of education, training and research in Information Assurance,” he said.
