AUBURN UNIVERSITY REDESIGNATED AS NSA CENTER FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

AUBURN - The National Security Agency has again designated Auburn University a Center of Academic Excellence in recognition of its outstanding programs in information security and assurance.

The NSA designation allows Auburn to apply for scholarships and grants from federal information assurance scholarship programs.

“We are honored to receive this prestigious designation once again,” said Larry Benefield, dean of AU’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. “It takes the cooperation of many different departments and individuals to receive this type of recognition, and we appreciate the hard work that has gone into preparing for the evaluation process.”

The CAE program was designed to help create a core group of professionals with expertise across various disciplines. CAEs focus on information assurance - the measures used to protect and defend the nation’s information systems by ensuring their availability and integrity. Goals of the program include developing the information assurance workforce of the future and sustaining new research in information assurance areas.

Many federal grants are available only to NSA Centers of Excellence. Additionally, Auburn is eligible to apply for scholarships and grants through information assurance scholarship programs offered by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense.

Auburn was originally given the CAE designation in 2003. Universities are reevaluated every three years to make sure they are still in compliance with the high standards set forth by the NSA.

Auburn University is a preeminent land-grant and comprehensive research institution with more than 23,000 students and 6,500 faculty and staff. Ranked among the top 50 public universities nationally, Auburn is Alabama’s largest educational institution, offering more than 230 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs.

(Contributed by Sara Borchik.)

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