With more and more of our day-to-day lives happening online, never before has cybersecurity been so critical. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s 2021 Data Breach Report, there were a record 1,862 data breaches last year, with more than 80% revealing sensitive personal information. Meanwhile, the demand for qualified cybersecurity professionals is high and growing, with some estimates for currently unfilled jobs ranging in the millions.

A new University of Louisville program is tackling both issues head-on through innovative online curriculum and research. Thanks to $8.3 million from the National Security Agency’s (NSA) National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity, UofL and its multidisciplinary Digital Transformation Center (DTC) are developing the next generation of cybersecurity tools and professionals to prevent future cyberattacks and keep your information safe.

New digital signature

Passwords are easily stolen — perhaps you leave your computer unattended for just a moment, someone looks over your shoulder or it’s revealed in a company data breach.

But what’s harder to steal is how you move — the unique way you interact with your computer, how you move your mouse and tap, tap, tap on your keyboard. Researchers at UofL are using these unique movements, or haptics, to create a new security authentication method using neural network models.

Adel Elmaghraby, co-principal investigator for the NSA project and professor in the Speed School of Engineering, leads a research collaboration with Mississippi-based, historically Black institution Alcorn State University to conduct this pioneering research. The idea is to use those movements as a sort of digital signature which, along with your username and password, would provide an added layer of cybersecurity.

“Those movements are uniquely you, and they’re very hard to replicate,” Elmaghraby said. “By adding this layer to existing user verification, we can create a more secure cyber environment, and continuously verify that you are you.”

The researchers have already published two papers showing the security benefits of improved keystroke dynamics. While their research now focuses on desktop computers and laptops, they believe it may be possible to adapt the technology for tablets and smartphones, perhaps using your touchscreen interactions as your haptic signature.

This work, Elmaghraby said, builds on UofL’s earned expertise in tackling the most pressing and emergent problems in cybersecurity through research and innovation. For example, UofL was recently selected by the U.S. Department of Defense to work on research and education to strengthen the country’s cyber defenses. UofL was the only school selected from Kentucky for both networks and one of only a handful to hold the competitive Carnegie Research-1 classification. These efforts, together with others backed by the U.S. departments of Homeland Security and Labor, create a hub of cybersecurity research, innovation and expertise at UofL.

“The work we’re doing here at UofL is truly at the leading edge of cybersecurity research,” he said. “We’re anticipating and addressing these major issues that affect safety and security on a personal and even global level.”

Strengthening the cyber workforce

UofL also is working to develop the next generation of cybersecurity professionals, via its NSA-backed Cybersecurity Workforce Certificate Program. The certificate leverages technology industry badging from Microsoft, IBM and Google as well as gamification and hands-on applied learning with use cases from industry partners to teach artificial intelligence, blockchain and other cutting-edge aspects of cybersecurity.

UofL’s Digital Transformation Center leads the curriculum development for the online program, working with a coalition that now includes nine other institutions, including those serving diverse populations. UofL is currently piloting the six-month, instructor-led certificate program, but once completed, it will be made available to other institutions at no charge.

“As technology continues to become more of an integral piece of our everyday lives, a strong cybersecurity industry and workforce are the most important protections we have to make our financial and health care systems secure,” said Sharon Kerrick, a principal investigator on the NSA grant, associate professor and assistant vice president of the UofL Digital Transformation Center. “We can fill that need with this focused, accelerated curriculum that prepares diverse students of all backgrounds for careers in cybersecurity.”

Students are already graduating from the program, many of whom are alumni returning to campus to layer on a cybersecurity credential. That’s true for Kelly Kramer, who graduated in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He landed a job in law enforcement as a data analyst and legal assistant but grew increasingly interested in cybersecurity, where his interests in psychology, technology and protecting people converged.

“This program has taught me quite a bit about securing not only those essential entities like hospitals, businesses, government agencies, but also ourselves,” said Kramer, who now plans to return for his master’s degree in computer science. “It is a complex web of networks, nodes, servers, databases, and much more. We need people to understand each of these if we are to effectively secure them. I have no doubt that this program will open up opportunities for myself and others.”

The same goes for JT Corcoran ’14, who graduated with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer engineering and computer science. He joined the U.S. Air Force and spent seven years on active duty, working in data analytics, cyber incident response and network architecture planning.

When Corcoran’s service was ending, he started looking at new career opportunities. His mom, also a UofL alum, sent him a link about the certificate program; he decided to enroll.

“Since I had prior background in cybersecurity, many of the topics were familiar but I haven’t done some of these things in a while,” said Corcoran, who now works as a health care security analyst. “The certificate provided a nice refresher on doing things like writing firewall rules, configuring network infrastructure, integrating cloud services and conducting forensics in a lab environment. Additionally, the inclusion of newer technology topics like blockchain and post-quantum cryptography was fantastic to help brainstorm new ways of innovating in the security space.”

UofL received an initial $6.3 million from the NSA to back the research and curriculum development in 2020. For the curriculum, UofL partnered with the University of Arkansas Little Rock, the University of North Florida, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System — Bluegrass Community and Technical College and Owensboro Community and Technical College, and a coalition liaison from the City University of Seattle.

In 2022, UofL received an additional $2 million to add six more colleges and universities to the coalition: Kentucky State University and Simmons College, both historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs); The City College of New York, a Hispanic-serving institution; Kennesaw State University, Hood College and Northwest Missouri State University. Each of the schools in the coalition is an NSAdesignated National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and contributes interests, experience and skills aligned with health care cybersecurity systems.

“It’s great that we’re getting to know our colleagues at neighboring universities — we’re working together, and sharing ideas,” said Richard Maiti, an assistant professor of computer science at Kentucky State University, who serves as the lead for the project for his institution. “This is a great opportunity, and it’s helping to bring cybersecurity awareness and training to everyone — our students, professionals and folks in the community.”

More information on the Cybersecurity Workforce Certificate Program, including how to enroll, is available at louisville.edu/education/nsacybersecurity.

Nestled in the corner of the building is a room that stands out amongst the rest. Once inside, it’s as though you’ve stepped into an art gallery. There is scarcely an inch of wall not covered in color. A deep sink is filled with encrusted paintbrushes. Cubbies line one wall, each labeled with a student’s name and stuffed to the brim with collages, paintings and drawings.

The space is home to the college’s art therapy master’s program. Here, students are taught to be healers, and art is their emphasis.

“It’s a form of therapy that really transcends age group and demographics,” Amy Mattingly ’22 said. “Geriatrics, pediatrics, clients who have experienced trauma or have recently been in an accident … I have seen every population benefit from using art as a form of processing what they have been through.”

Mattingly speaks from personal experience and understanding, having completed a practicum placement at UofL Hospital Trauma Center, part of UofL Health.

“No matter what you have going on, art offers us the unique ability to process through things,” Mattingly said. “Often, we can’t verbalize our trauma, but we can use our hands to silently process through it. Sometimes, words aren’t enough. Art bridges that gap.”

Luke Gipperich, a second-year student, has seen the power of art working with children through Open Door Youth Services, a southern Indiana foster care shelter. “I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” he said.

“Art creates this kind of third-space,” Gipperich said. “It’s a space that isn’t tied to their productivity, it’s not tied to their circumstances. It isn’t something they need to work out in school or with a case manager. It’s a space where they know that whatever they put out, it’s safe.

“Art shows them that they have a voice. It gives them a space to feel heard.”

Leading the way

The art therapy master’s program is unique — not only across UofL’s campus but across Kentucky as well. It is the only program of the discipline in the state and, founded in 1968, one of the first of its kind in the United States.

Eileen Estes ’91, the program’s director, along with Marybeth Orton ’93, the clinical coordinator and an instructor, have watched the program f lourish over the past two decades.

“When I started as program director in 2005, I had five students taking my courses,” Estes said. “Now, we have 41 students enrolled in the program.”

It’s the largest class yet, and the growth is a nod to the recognition among mental health professionals of art therapy as a distinct and unique means for healing.

“It really is a form of therapy that works regardless of the client or population,” Orton said. “It’s something I think that therapists have historically known but that neuroscience has had to catch up to — that we store trauma within our bodies. What our brain can’t always figure out how to say can be expressed with our bodies. We can say it through art.

“It’s a beautiful language when we may not have access to words,” she said.

Another testament to the program’s success is the dedication of Estes and Orton — themselves alumnae of the program. Estes graduated with her degree in expressive therapies in 1991, and Orton soon after in 1993. Estes went on to work in a hospital setting and became a faculty member at Jefferson Community and Technical College. Orton worked in a private practice. Both returned to their alma mater, giving back to the program they believed in so strongly.

Under their leadership, the program has matured to its current level of success. They partner with over 30 sites throughout Louisville and southern Indiana regions, placing students in settings ranging from women’s prisons to nursing homes, residential facilities to hospitals.

Seeing the impact

Graduates of the program are in high demand, with alumni working in settings across the country and a near 100% employment rate upon degree completion.

Jenson Maydew ’20 is one such graduate who now works as an art therapist with University of Kentucky Healthcare.

“I was always into art,” Maydew said. “I had a baby easel and I was always drawing, always painting. My best friend’s brother was later diagnosed with leukemia. Part of his treatment was art therapy. I knew right then that it was my future career.”

For Maydew, the proof of art therapy’s effectiveness lies in the difference she sees in her patients from the beginning of their treatment to the end.

“It’s the growth you see in people through their work,” Maydew said. “We can measure it, sure. But you can see it. When they start treatment, they’re choosing to paint with reds and blacks. It’s harsh. When they complete their treatment, they’re choosing lighter colors; the composition of their work changes. It’s night and day.”

Mattingly, who hopes to eventually work in a trauma center, recited some of the more impactful moments she has encountered.

“I worked in a setting with victims of interpersonal gun violence, many of whom were young boys,” she said. “We did an activity together called the ‘Inside-Outside Mask.’ The kids decorated a mask on the outside to reflect what the world sees and on the inside to reflect how they see themselves. They were able to verbalize then the way the world had pigeonholed them, and how that impacted their story. It was cathartic. They had a space to verbalize how they really see themselves.”

For several 2022 graduates from Cuba, choosing UofL fulfilled an American dream that has been in the hearts of Cubans for decades.

Among them were identical twins Dariel and Damian Brunelis Fuentes, graduating from the J.B. Speed School of Engineering; Antonio Abreu Almauguer, graduating from the School of Nursing; and Amalia Gamez, graduating from the College of Business. They were among the more than 3,300 UofL graduates who earned degrees and professional certificates in May.

The four students traveled thousands of miles with their families from Cuba to Kentucky, where they said they found a welcoming community in the city of Louisville and, especially, at UofL.

Cuban immigration into the U.S. has been difficult, its rules often changing since 1959, when Fidel Castro took control of the Caribbean island nation and launched its socialist revolution. Approximately 2 million U.S. residents are natives of Cuba or claim Cuban ancestry, according to Migrationpolicy.org.

Louisville ranks among U.S. cities with sizable Cuban communities; others are Miami and Houston. Almost 5,000 Cuban immigrants came to Louisville between 2015 and 2019, according to Kentuckyrefugees.org. 

While Cubans are not defined as refugees by the U.S. government — their official designation is “immigrants” — two nonprofits that aid refugees in Louisville are instrumental in their resettlement: Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM) and Catholic Charities.

Both organizations have mentoring programs that introduce new immigrants to Louisville’s educational opportunities, including Jefferson County Public Schools, Jefferson Community & Technical College (JCTC) and UofL.

While JCTC is often where immigrants start their postsecondary educations, later transferring to UofL, that was not the case with twins Dariel and Damian Brunelis Fuentes.

They arrived in Louisville in 2015 with their mother, Ilsa Brunelis, whose sister lived in Louisville and sang the city’s praises. The family hoped the vibrant Cuban community would be a steady support system while the relatives became immersed in American culture.

Through KRM, the brothers entered Jefferson County Public Schools’ Newcomer Academy for English language learners in middle and high school. They later attended Academy at Shawnee and, after a meeting with UofL Admissions Executive Director Jenny Sawyer, they started taking dual-credit courses at UofL in 2017.

“Dariel and Damian are two of the most determined young men I have ever met during my tenure at UofL,” Sawyer said. “I met them on a Saturday when they visited campus with KRM, but they took the next step of advocating for themselves so they could be dual-credit students. They have shown us all how determination, focus and hard work can take you anywhere you want to go.”

The brothers graduated with degrees in chemical engineering. Dariel accepted a job in Houston with his dream company, ExxonMobil. Damian works in Dallas for Amazon as an operations manager.

KRM’s Adrienne Eisenmenger, who is the nonprofit’s family and youth services manager, called the brothers “rock stars.”

“They got into Speed School and both just excelled,” Eisenmenger said.

The brothers said their mother was the foundation of it all.

“I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to leave a whole life, you know, 50 years in one country and go to another country where you don’t even know the language,” Damian added, “all to seek a better future for your kids.”

Antonio Abreu Almauguer stayed in Louisville following graduation to work in nursing for Norton Healthcare. His passion is cardiology, where he works with some of the sickest patients.

“Hands-on nursing is what I like, working side-by-side with a patient,” he said. “You really can change a person’s life by taking care of them.”

Abreu Almauguer arrived in Louisville at the age of 18, forced to rethink his plan to become a medical doctor in Cuba. He also had two pressing obstacles: He did not speak English and he did not have the means to pay tuition.

KRM helped him with English classes, and after Abreu Almauguer successfully finished one, he sought more advanced classes. KRM started introducing him to postsecondary education options and took him to UofL’s Belknap Campus, where he felt an immediate connection.

“It was like in the movies, you know? In Cuba we don’t have big schools, the culture that the schools in the U.S. have,” he said.

He began with a few classes at JCTC and then transferred.

His tuition was paid through the Metropolitan College Program at UPS, where he would work the night shift, sleep four hours and then go to class. Supported by his UPS supervisors, he applied for the Norton Scholars Program, which pays tuition in return for an agreement to work for Norton Healthcare after graduation.

He decorated his graduation cap with a tribute to his two grandmothers still in Cuba, thanking them for being his first teachers.

“Family to me is like breath,” he said. Despite limited access to the internet, one of his grandmothers learned how to text her grandson from Cuba. “That kept me going.”

Amalia Gamez, who is a counselor in the Office of Admissions for Hispanic/Latinx students, also worked with KRM and was introduced to UofL through the KRM college counseling program. This year, she was one of two students named 2022 Cardinal Award winners and she was also named a 2022 Outstanding Adult Learner. She graduated with honors in business administration with finance, completing her degree in four years while also working full time.

“Graduating from UofL was a dream come true,” she said. “I am a Cuban girl who has only been in the country for five years, and for four of them, I have been in school.

“I have been working in the admissions office for a year now, as the Hispanic/ Latinx admissions counselor. My work in this position resonates a lot with my personal experience because I was that same kid four years ago looking for answers and wanting to continue my education,” Gamez said. “The fact that I get to help students and families like me is very rewarding, and it’s definitely what I feel most passionate about.”

His determination to showcase the best in others is what makes him one of the top sports information directors in the business. It also makes it difficult to focus the spotlight on himself.

But when Klein, senior associate athletic director and sports information director for men’s basketball, announced his retirement this spring, he found himself the center of attention as journalists, athletes, coaches, peers and the Cardinal faithful recognized his status as a Louisville legend in his own right.

“I’ve had so many people around the country just reach out and it’s been overwhelming. Completely overwhelming, but very much appreciated. When you work trying to promote others for so long, personal accolades are not something you’re comfortable with or seeking in any way,” he said. “They are nice when they come but, you know, I could walk out of here without a word said from somebody else and be happy and know that things went well during my time here.”

In Klein’s nearly four decades in sports information, “went well” is a bit of an undersell. During his time in athletics, he’s seen Final Fours, national champions, a Heisman trophy winner, Hall of Fame coaches, UofL join the ACC and much, much more. It’s a far cry from when he started in the athletics department in 1983 as a 23-year-old sports information director with one assistant and a student intern.

“Our budget around that time was probably around $2 or $3 million maybe for the whole athletic department. And when our board votes on the budget this year, it’s going to be a record $114 million budget for athletics. So just in sheer numbers that shows you where we are,” he said. “We’ve got 23 sports now that can compete for championships.”

Klein didn’t grow up envisioning athletics would be his path in life. His childhood was spent on a farm just outside Clarksville, Tennessee, where the family raised cattle and hogs and grew tobacco. He played a little bit of basketball in junior high, but he had another passion.

“I was really into science. I was planning on being a doctor,” Klein said. “I liked sports, but I wasn’t a guy that knew every stat of every baseball team or something.”

He started pre-med at Austin Peay State University on an academic scholarship. While there, he worked for the local newspaper part time and for the student newspaper. As writing began to take hold of him, he started working with sports information at the college. By the end of the year, his mentor in sports information moved to Murray State University and urged Klein to follow, selling the school’s good pre-med program.

So Klein went. But by the time he got there, he shifted his career prospects to covering sports, eventually earning a journalism degree from Murray State. After graduation he worked at Morehead State University as the sports information director before then UofL Athletic Director Bill Olsen and Associate Athletic Director Don Russell hired him as the associate sports information director for Louisville. In his career since, Klein has been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and inspired countless people in his field.

Nancy Worley, an associate sports information director whom Klein hired six months into his job, said Klein earned the respect of his peers through relationships built on trust and fairness.

“Respect is a two-way street and he has established that for decades,” she said. “He treats the smallest blog to the biggest national writer with the same respect. He is like the grandparent who secretly tells each of his grandkids that they are the favorite, yet never plays favorites.”

It’s helping people, Klein said, that made him interested in – and kept him in – the business.

“That’s what I view my thing as – I’m trying to help people,” he said. “How can I do that in my role? What can I write? How can I connect these people to national media? How can I make this television announcer’s job better by providing him quality information on our guys that can make the telecast better? That in turn makes it better for our fans to watch. How can I help people? That’s really the way I view my job.”

Kathy Tronzo, a sports information assistant who has been with Klein his entire Cardinal career, saw that urge to help firsthand.

“He was always in the office before 8 a.m. and didn’t leave most days until well after 5 p.m.,” she said. “On game days, he was at the arena or stadium at least five hours before game time and stayed until the last reporter left.”

Most of Klein’s time at UofL has been spent with men’s basketball, and his memories from working with that program are some of his most dear. Asked about some of his favorite players he’s watched through the years, he demurs, though Klein admits he holds a special place for former Cards Lancaster Gordon and Charles Jones, who were the seniors on the first UofL team with which he worked.

“If I start naming names, you’d have 100 names,” he said. “It’s just because there’s so many of them through the years, and it’s not just the All Americans or the starters, it’s the backups, the walk-ons, the others, too,” he said.

One of those special players was Kenny Payne, now UofL’s head men’s basketball coach. When Payne heard Klein was retiring, he had one favor to ask – could Klein stick around? Klein couldn’t help seeing another situation where he could provide an assist. So he agreed. While Klein is retiring from his full-time position, he will stay with the men’s basketball team in a capacity to be determined for Payne’s first year as head coach.

“Whatever I can do to help,” Klein said. “ When you’ve got a first-year staff and all that, I just want to make sure they’re off on the right foot. I’m willing to be around here a little bit longer to do that.”

“We need everybody,” Payne said.

Everybody means everybody – he needs support from players, staff, fans, the university, the state. Payne, who is the first Black head men’s basketball coach in program history, understands there are high expectations for the program, but he also wants people to know that winning games is just part of the goal for the team and players.

“I want to win the game of life for them,” he said. “If they win the game of life, the basketball games will follow.”

To start, Payne set to work assembling a roster of perhaps his most essential helpers – his stable of assistant coaches.

First came Nolan Smith, former assistant coach at Duke. Then Danny Manning, most recently interim head coach at Maryland, joined the squad. Finally, the core coaching team was rounded out with Josh Jamieson, former executive director for men’s basketball at Oregon. Former Cardinals Milt Wagner and Reece Gaines are also part of the staff. Building that support system was critical, Payne said.

“For one, I had to get people who are good people. People who are loving men,” Payne said. “Most of the time people that are fathers who understand young people, right, wrong or indifferent. Nolan and Danny and Josh and Milt and Reece, you go down the list and all these people are people that have experience not just in the sport, but they are good people, they are good fathers. And that’s important because we’re dealing with other people’s kids.”

Since their hiring, the coaches began working to build out the Cardinals roster and hype up the team, the fan base and the community. Some, like Manning and Jamieson, are new to Louisville. Others, like Smith, son of Cardinal 1980 NCAA champion Derek Smith, knew what was awaiting the coaches when they joined the staff.  

“This is a Cardinals town,” Smith said. “They love their basketball. They love their players. They love us coaches, and we’re excited to be a part of this and give them what they deserve.”

What those fans deserve and what they expect is a team that gives maximum effort, Jamieson said.

“Our whole focus leading into the season will be in essence trying to find what potential resides in each individual and then try to maximize that,” he said. “So, in my opinion, the fans should expect a team that plays hard, that plays with and for each other and demonstrates a very high level of effort.”

Getting players to play for each other and building connections is where Payne excels, Manning said.

“He and our staff will be measured on wins and losses, as kind of a quick snapshot, but the big picture, the impact that he’s going to have on the lives of these young men, will last forever,” Manning said. “And that’s what I’m most excited about – being a part of helping these young guys develop on and off the court.”

When the season begins with a game against also local Bellarmine University Nov. 9, the team will have plenty of eyes on them. Payne and his coaches know that fans and the community are eager to see Louisville Basketball return to prominence, but they caution patience.

They’re trying to rebuild a culture of doing right and of young people succeeding on the court and in life. And that takes time.

“At times it’s going to look disorganized or disjointed, but the longer we go the better we’re going to be at it,” Payne said. “We need the support not just when it’s great, but we need the support of the transformation of it becoming great.”

Patience may be a message that Cardinals fans have heard before, but the community can take what Payne says to heart, Jamieson said.

“Kenny is one who backs up whatever it is that he says with action.”

SIDELINE ANTICS

To be successful, a coaching staff has to jell as much as the players do. UofL Magazine wanted to see how in sync Kenny Payne and his assistant coaches are in a preseason round of random superlatives.

Who is the best dresser?

Kenny Payne (KP): Josh. No — Danny Manning.
Josh Jamieson (JJ): I would guess that would be Nolan. Then probably Danny, but it could be the other way around.
Danny Manning (DM): To be determined. We’ll see how that goes.
Nolan Smith (NS): I’m going to go with Danny. He’s the OG. He’s probably got some smooth old style.

Who will be the most vocal on the sidelines?

KP: Probably me. And Josh Jamieson is a yeller.
JJ: Probably either Nolan or myself. 
DM: KP will be the most vocal. I’m following KP’s lead.
NS: Probably myself.

Who would you NOT want to go up against in a shooting contest?

KP: I would not want to go up against Josh.
JJ: Any of them. You’ve got three guys that were first-round draft picks in the NBA.
DM: Nolan, because he talks. It’s just constant chatter, a barrage of highenergy communication.
NS: Stepping outside this group, I’d say Milt Wagner.

Who would you want on your team in a 2-on-2 game?

KP: I would take Danny. The old guys against the younger guys.
JJ: I want KP. I just want to see what he’s got left.
DM: Nolan, because he’s the most active and the youngest.
NS: Danny. If I can put him somewhere around the basket, I can throw it high and he knows what to do with it from there.

Who brings the best hype music?

KP: Definitely Nolan Smith
JJ: Nolan. He knows what’s going on these days. I’m still listening to Don McLean.
DM: Nolan. He’s a little bit more in touch with what these guys are into.
NS: Either myself or Josh. He probably has some different types of music that I know the players would get hyped to.

Who tells the best stories from their basketball days?

KP: I think probably Danny.
JJ: Nolan, because he just makes stuff up all the time.
DM: Nolan tells the best stories.
NS: I’d say myself.

Who is the best cook?

KP: Oof, I wouldn’t feel confident eating any of their food.
JJ: No idea on that one.
DM: I don’t know. I do know in the process of elimination it’s not me.
NS: It’s definitely not me. I bet KP can throw down on the grill.

• The College of ����ֱ�� is also home to innovation, particularly with their art therapy master’s program, the state’s only program of its kind where student are trained in discovering the art of healing.
• The Class of 2022 included four Cuban immigrants who defined their own version of success as they chased the American dream, Cardinal-style.
• Beloved longtime sports information director Kenny Klein retired this summer, after decades of being the wizard behind the curtain for student athletes and media members.

The issue also includes UofL’s latest national champion and some insight into how the new men’s basketball coaches are leading the team.