YPSILANTI ? EMU?s Center for Regional and National Security (CeRNS) has

been given the designation of National Center of Academic Excellence in

Information Assurance Education by the National Security Agency (NSA)

and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

?We are eteremly proud of the capabilities that have been recognized by

this designation,? said John Dugger, dean of EMU?s College of

Technology, home of the Center for Regional and National Security. ?This designation gives our students and incredible advantage in the

job market,? said Gerald ?Skip? Lawver, director of CeRNS.

?When the undergraduate degree is approved and finalized, we will be one of the

few institution in the country where a student can achieve vertical

articulation in information assurance,? he said. ?We will be the only state-supported institution in Michigan where a student can travel through undergraduate, masters and Ph.D. in information assurance. This is a major step for EMU.?

EMU was the only school from Michigan awarded the designation this year. Walsh College?s Information Assurance Center received the designation last year. Others making the list for 2005 are California State Polytechnic University at Pomona; DePaul University (Illinois); East Carolina University (North

Carolina); Nova Southeastern University (Florida); Oklahoma State

University; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the

U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.

Designation as a center is good for three academic years, after which a

university must successfully reapply in order to retain its

designation. Currently there are 67 colleges and universities in the

country with the designation.

The National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance

Education Program is intended to reduce vulnerabilities in the national

information infrastructure by promoting higher education in information

assurance and producing a growing number of professionals with

information assurance expertise in various disciplines.

The NSA and the DHS partnership was formed in April 2004 and responds

to Priority III of the President?s National Strategy to Secure

Cyberspace, which directs the Federal Government to foster training and

education programs to support the Nation?s cybersecurity needs , and to

increase the efficiency of existing Federal cybersecurity programs. Universities given the designation are eligible to apply for

scholarships and grants through both the Federal and Department of

Defense Information Assurance Scholarship Programs.

The mission of the Center for Regional and National Security is to

support citizenship security through excellence and innovation in

teaching and research. The center was formed in 2003 under three

service platforms, Information Assurance, Law Enforcement/School

Safety, and Homeland Security. Currently there are 300 students in the

center.