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DSU is NSA Center for Academic Excellence
| | | By:ELISA SAND, Staff Reporter | 04/22/2004 |
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SIOUX FALLS -- Dakota State University has joined the academic Division I with recent recognition from the National Security Agency.
DSU has been named a NSA Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance. The local campus will be among 10 universities recognized this year at a June 8 ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.
Campus officials announced the news at a Sioux Falls press conference Thursday morning.
"We've been selected by the NSA to be one of the key universities for the development of Information Assurance," said DSU President Doug Knowlton, indicating that this recognition puts DSU among universities in the academic Division I.
Other universities that have received this designation include Purdue University, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) and John Hopkins University (Md.).
Knowlton thanked U.S. Sens. Tim Johnson and Tom Daschle for their support of DSU seeking this recognition.
"I'm very pleased DSU has been named a Center for Academic Excellence," Johnson said Thursday through the use of the Dakota Digital Network. "It speaks a lot for DSU and the state of South Dakota. It's a tribute to the faculty and staff and the mission they chose to pursue."
Johnson also pledged his continued support in making the campus a national leader.
"This is a great feather in the heat for DSU and the state of South Dakota," he said. "We are immensely proud of DSU and are pleased you have taken on this leadership role. This program is in good hands with the leadership in Madison."
Specific campus individuals recognized for their efforts included DSU instructor Kevin Streff, Academic Vice President Cecelia Wittmayer, Vice President for Academic Affairs Rick Smith, former DSU President Jerry Tunheim and the South Dakota Board of Regents.
This designation will allow DSU to implement new research, partnerships and student activities, Knowlton said. One research topic DSU will be focusing on is biometrics.
"Within the next four to six weeks, we will be installing an iris recognition system at Dakota State," Knowlton said. That system will be the first one in South Dakota.
In reference to biometrics, Streff said, the campus sees it playing a key role on campus. It works by taking something like a fingerprint to verify a person's identity.
The NSA designation means not only national recognition but also exclusive access to federal grants and scholarships that are available only to NSA-designated universities.
DSU officials applied with the NSA for this designation in December. The campus was among 25 universities considered and is the only university in the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota) to receive this recognition.
One university each in Iowa (Iowa State University) and Nebraska (University of Nebraska) currently carry this designation. The majority of the universities that hold this certification are on the East Coast.
To achieve NSA designation, Streff said, a campus is required to map its curriculum to meet NSA standards, and to meet 30 criteria to determine if the university is eligible as a Center for Academic Excellence.
Those requirements include not only offering the programs in information assurance and computer security but also demonstrating that research is taking place; faculty are teaching in information assurance; the library has current resources available; that the campus itself is secure; and that faculty members are presenting information to the public.
DSU has to show that a partnership has been established with under-represented universities. Streff said DSU has established partnerships not only with community colleges but also Native American university Sinte Gleska University in Mission.
(For more information see the full story in Thursday's Madison Daily Leader)
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