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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida A&M University (FAMU) Computer and Information Sciences (CIS) has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Education through the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP).
The project, Broadening Information Assurance Awareness and Competence (BIAAC), is potentially a three-year, $600,000 award.
“This grant provides the funding we have needed to move to the next level in the evolution of our information assurance track,” said Edward Jones, Ph.D., project principal investigator and chair of FAMU’s CIS. “We are determined to be among the first HBCU to achieve National Security Agency designation as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE). This designation also positions the university to compete for funds to support students and to expand research.”
Information assurance (IA) has become one of the most popular tracks of study in the CIS Department. Since its inception in 2004, nearly 80 students have completed the track and received professional certificates recognized by the Department of Homeland Security and the Committee for National Security Systems (CNSS).
IA is one of the fastest growing areas of information technology. IA addresses concerns ranging from individual privacy and information protection in commerce, entertainment and social interaction to national security.
Project goals include establishing the FAMU Center for Secure Computing and Information Assurance (FCSCIA) for research, outreach and service; increasing the number of CIS graduates who receive IA certificates and pursue IA-related advanced degrees and careers; meeting the requirements to be designated a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE); enhancing and strengthening student and faculty research in IA; and broadening collaborations between the IA program and other academic programs, such as criminal justice.
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