The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is establishing a program to boost cybersecurity around the state with the help of a $1 million award from Google.org, the tech company’s philanthropy program.
UALR’s Cybersecurity Clinic Network will connect students, faculty and partner institutions to provide cybersecurity services for organizations ranging from cities, schools and small utilities to healthcare providers, nonprofits and small businesses, said Phillip Huff, director of UALR’s Cyberspace Operations Research and Education, or CORE, Center. It will focus on rural and underserved areas.
The program is expected to train more than 500 students and support more than 150 organizations over the next six years. Huff, an associate professor of computer science, said the program will be part of the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics, an international network of university-based initiatives working on cybersecurity education.
Students participating in the cyber clinics will work under faculty supervision to conduct cybersecurity assessments, recommend secure systems, deploy monitoring tools and assist with remediation planning using industry-best practices.
“This model benefits everyone,” Provost Ann Bain said Thursday during an event at UALR announcing the funding. Students will gain “hands-on experience with real-world problem solving,” organizations around Arkansas will enjoy cybersecurity support and employers will have a pipeline of skilled and educated workers, she said.
The program is scheduled to begin this fall, according to the university. Prior funding from the U.S. Department of Energy supported the development of key technologies that will enable the clinic’s cybersecurity services.
The new initaitive will build on UALR’s leading role in the Cyber Learning Network, a partnership between UA System campuses that aims to expand and diversify cybersecurity and related technology education statewide. It includes UALR; UA-Fayetteville; the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff; and community colleges in Morrilton, Batesville, Helena-West Helena and elsewhere. The Cybersecurity Clinic Network will include the same partner campuses.
The Cybersecurity Clinic Network “builds in a tangible way” on the success of the Cyber Learning Network, Chancellor Christina S. Drale said.
The partnership began as an effort to build a pipeline from high schools to post-secondary institution. The cybersecurity workforce shortage nationally exceeds 500,000, according to Sandra Leiterman, the Cyber Learning Network’s managing director, and the network is an attempt to remove “some of those barriers.”
Students can begin with CLN programs as early as high school and keep any credits wherever they transfer while having “multiple entry and exit points” of education along the way, but the more education they receive, the better their job prospects, Leiterman said.
It’s “the same credentials at any campus, (with) full credits guaranteed,” she said.
“Navigating the recent increase in disruptive cyberattacks on essential services — from local power grids to hospitals — will rely on a strong cyber workforce capable of defending against everyday threats,” Maab Ibrahim of Google.org said in a news release Thursday from UALR. “Cyber clinics are … a smart investment in both our workforce and the critical infrastructure that communities depend on.”
Last week, the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved a master’s of science program in cybersecurity from UALR, effective this fall.
The master’s program will prepare students to address the complete spectrum of emerging threats in digital and AI-enabled systems while meeting workforce needs in AI and cybersecurity, according to UALR. No other master’s-level programs in cybersecurity are currently offered in Arkansas.
Ryan Anderson
Ryan Anderson covers higher education across the state. He joined the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in August 2022 after covering education — and other topics — for a decade at four newspapers in three states. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ryan attended DePaul University in Chicago and now resides in Fayetteville.
