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University of Maryland College Park has been designated an Intelligence Community "Center of Academic Excellence" by the U.S. government. It is the first higher education institution in the state to be selected for the program, and 1 of only 14 universities participating nationwide.
The program provides funding -- $300,000 dollars annually for up to five years -- to enhance College Park's ability to prepare students for government service and leadership positions in the Intelligence Community.
The designation further aligns Maryland's flagship research university with the state's cyber security strategic plan recently announced today by Governor Martin O'Malley.
As a Center of Academic Excellence, the university will strengthen its curriculum as well as create new educational opportunities and internships in a broad range of areas, from information and cyber security to foreign language acquisition, cross-cultural studies, mathematics, physical sciences and engineering.
The first class affected by the program will begin this month: Intelligence as a National Security Instrument.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence coordinates the Centers of Academic Excellence program, and particularly seeks to encourage minority students to pursue careers in national security professions.
"The growing challenges and expanding mission of the Intelligence Community, plus the 'graying' of the federal workforce adds up to an increased need for government workers with the requisite critical skills, diverse backgrounds and language and cultural capabilities," says professor William Nolte, who directs the program. Nolte formerly served as chancellor of the National Intelligence University System and as a senior Intelligence Community officer.
"For years, the University of Maryland has provided an excellent entr�e into national security service, and with this new funding stream we can build on that," Nolte adds.
The program will be based in the School of Public Policy, but will include participation across campus and from other parts of the University System of Maryland. Its funding will:
Expand course offerings in fields of national security-related interest across most major disciplines;
Develop seminars, visits and other activities to help students learn more about national security professions;
Support additional study abroad opportunities;
Develop a high school outreach program to encourage students to explore careers in the national security professions.
The program will leverage a number of University strengths - the proximity of various federal agencies, existing research partnerships with these agencies, and strong existing educational and research programs related to national security. Some examples:
Information and Cyber Security: Extensive research in engineering, as well as business management of cyber security resources and public policy issues; Maryland has been designated by the NSA and DHS a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research.
Language Acquisition: Interdisciplinary study of language acquisition and instruction, including the University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language and National Flagship programs in Arabic andPersian.
Behavioral Study of Terrorism: The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) based at Maryland maintains the world's largest and most comprehensive open-source database of terrorist incidents; the University also offers a minor in terrorism studies and a graduate certificate in Terrorism Studies.
Source: University of Maryland College Park
Writer: Walaika Haskins