This year’s Fiscal Year 2023 government funding bill contains significant resources to support important Kentucky institutions and programs. Utilizing his role as Senate Republican Leader and as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. McConnell advocated on behalf of the University of Louisville in this year’s government funding process. That includes his support of the NSA’s cyber workforce training initiative, which has funded educational programming at the University of Louisville.

“It’s an honor to return to my alma mater and announce that NSA’s cyber workforce training initiative, which has made landmark investments in educational programming at UofL, will once again receive robust resources from this fiscal year’s government funding bill. UofL is at the center of the growing cybersecurity field, benefitting the Commonwealth’s economy and our country’s national security. I look forward to more students taking part in this program and entering the workforce with the skillset needed to succeed in the 21st century,” said Sen. McConnell.

UofL launched its Cybersecurity Workforce Certificate in 2020 thanks to $6.2 million in funding from the NSA as a pilot for a national program supported by Sen. McConnell to train a qualified cybersecurity workforce. The UofL program so far has enrolled more than 200 students, with an emphasis on training military veterans and first responders in health care cybersecurity and logistics.

“The need for highly skilled cybersecurity professionals to protect our information systems is increasing rapidly. The University of Louisville is leading the way to meet this need in developing our innovative cybersecurity workforce training program and assembling a coalition of universities to support and replicate this training on a national level,” said Lori Stewart Gonzalez, interim president of UofL. “We are grateful to Sen. McConnell for supporting this and other programs with additional funding, and for his advocacy on behalf of UofL and Kentucky.”

UofL’s cybersecurity certificate program includes online learning, hands-on applied learning labs at all levels and gamification components, along with online technology industry badging from Microsoft, IBM and Google. Students gain expertise in artificial intelligence, robotics process automation, blockchain, internet of things (IoT), machine learning and other areas to earn individual badges throughout the certificate’s 24 modules.

“With technology continuing 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 ensure secure businesses and critical infrastructure across the Commonwealth and nation,” said Kevin Gardner, UofL’s executive vice president for research and innovation. “As a top research institution, UofL is proud to lead the charge on this important work through groundbreaking and unparalleled research, innovation and academic programs. We appreciate Sen. McConnell’s support for advancing cybersecurity technology and growing our cybersecurity workforce.”

UofL is partnering with corporations, including logistics companies, health care providers and others, as well as other colleges and universities to create a national cybersecurity training coalition. UofL’s university partners include Kentucky Community and Technical Colleges, University of North Florida, University of Arkansas – Little Rock, City University of Seattle, Kentucky State University, Simmons College, City University of New York, Kennesaw State University, Hood College and Northwest Missouri State University. The University of West Florida and Purdue University Northwest also are building university coalitions for cybersecurity workforce training.

“This new funding can allow UofL and the other lead universities to leverage resources and initiate cooperation for the good of the entire cybersecurity national community,” said Sharon Kerrick, associate professor and assistant vice president, UofL Digital Transformation Center.

Following the initial $6.2 million in funding to launch the UofL program in 2020, the university received an additional $2.3 million to expand it to include logistics and train-the-trainer components in which students are trained to instruct others in their organizations.

The UofL provides future-focused curricula and educational tools to help train the workforce in fast-growing technology areas by integrating the best features of industry and academic institution relationships.

Bendapudi provided senators with updates and reminders about the COVID-19 vaccine. State government constraints limit the number of available vaccines, which restricts how quickly vaccines can be offered to the entire university community. Bendapudi further reminded senators that age will be the determining factor for when vaccines will be offered to employees. An email notification from UofL Health will alert those who are next in line to receive the vaccination. All staff, faculty and students were encouraged to take advantage of the vaccine when it is made available to them.

“If you have a chance to get a vaccine please do it, as all of the scientific evidence right now is that you’re better off taking the vaccine,” Bendapudi said.

Bendapudi presented key findings from the Counsel on Postsecondary ����ֱ��, which oversees all Kentucky higher education institutions. The counsel assesses all colleges and universities on 29 different metrics of progress. Bendapudi reported that since the 2015/2016 academic year, the university has improved on 26 of the 29 measured metrics. Adult learners over the age of 22, diversity of tenure track staff and student performance in English were among those areas with room for growth. The CPE findings further highlighted fall 2020 enrollment rates for the university.

“In fall of 2020, we led all Kentucky public colleges and universities by actually growing our freshmen enrollment by about 2.5%, when nationally the trends were down. This is the direct result of staff contribution at every level,” Bendapudi said.

Senators were also joined by M. Rehan Khan, vice president of information technology services and chief information officer, and Katherine Stevenson, executive director of enterprise technology services. As part of the ongoing effort to keep the university secure, access to campus resources will be restricted for devices with unsupported operating systems.

Stevenson informed senators that now obsolete operating systems, including Windows 7 and early variations of macOS, are no longer receiving necessary patches. As a result, these operating systems are increasingly exposed to vulnerabilities and possible cybersecurity threats. ��

“It’s important that people keep their operating systems up to date to receive these patches. If you don’t, your machine is very vulnerable to ransomware and other forms of malicious software,” Stevenson stated.

At the close of business on Feb. 26, these unsupported operating systems will no longer be able to access the campus VPN. At that time, devices running Windows 7 and the obsolete versions of macOS will not be able to access PeopleSoft HR. Employees were encouraged to take advantage of the free upgrade to Windows 10 through the university’s Microsoft contract. Updates to macOS are also available free of charge. Up to five personal devices can be updated to compatible operating systems by contacting the

Brian Buford, director of employee development and success, provided senators with information about the launch of the new Employee Success Center. The ESC was formed as part of the 2019-2022 to help make the university a great place to work. Leadership training, mentoring and coaching will be provided through the center to improve workplace culture and promote employee engagement.

To celebrate the launch of the Employee Success Center, President Bendapudi will host a virtual fireside chat with special guest, Simon Sinek, on Feb. 22 at 1 p.m. Sinek is a renowned speaker, author and presenter of the third most watched TED Talk of all time. Employees can register for the free virtual event

Committee reports and a full video recording of the virtual meeting can be found on the . The next Staff Senate meeting will be held on March 9 via Microsoft Teams.

Now assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve at Fort Knox, Hopkins is starting a new chapter through a cybersecurity program at the University of Louisville College of ����ֱ�� & Human Development that will prepare him for a job in the high-demand information technology career field.

A $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, administered through the Kentucky Commission on Military Affairs (KCMA),��is making it possible for Hopkins and others to pursue cybersecurity education.

The KCMA��received��the funding to develop cybersecurity education��pathways, while continuing��its efforts in workforce development for service members, veterans and spouses.��

Of the funding, $1.2 million��will build��new��pathways leading to cybersecurity certifications and degrees through UofL. The money funds program design and implementation, along with student testing fees.��Called the��, the program is expected to��produce��110��to 190��learners who will qualify��for industry certifications. Some individuals also may choose to pursue a��bachelor’s��or��master’s��degree to enhance their competitiveness in the labor market.��

Hopkins says the program will open up a whole new realm of job possibilities.��“I understand a fair amount about information technology, but I don’t have a formal certification. This will provide that for me,” he said.

The program also offers practical experiences, which may include an��apprenticeship as a form of on-the-job training��and��workplace learning.��With these opportunities,��Kentucky will draw upon experiential learning with defense contractors, primes��and their sub-contractors.

“This grant builds on Kentucky’s goal to become our nation’s most military and veterans’ friendly – and ready – state,” said Governor Andy Beshear. “Team Kentucky’s partnership of state and federal��legislators, state agencies, universities��and defense industry companies��is working to fill��critical skills gaps and ensure military service members,��past��and present, and their families��are gainfully employed.”

“The University of Louisville is proud to take a leading role in training our dedicated service members, veterans and spouses to become cybersecurity professionals” said Neeli Bendapudi, Ph.D., president of the University of Louisville. “I am truly��thankful to��the��U.S. Department of Defense and the Kentucky Commission��on��Military Affairs for their vote of confidence in our��strategic partnership and this most recent example that we are a great place to learn for our��military leaders and their families.”

This grant is phase three of KCMA’s effort to diversify Kentucky’s defense industry sector. The first two phases, carried out between 2015 and 2019, were focused on studies of Kentucky’s defense sector and efforts to expand that industry and its workforce. Among the findings��of the studies, KCMA discovered that��Kentucky’s defense industry has grown from $12 billion to $17 billion from 2015 to 2018. This growth indicates a new demand for cybersecurity talent to support defense manufacturing processes.

The grant funding for all three phases comes from the Department of Defense (DOD) Economic Adjustment Assistance for State Governments Program, which helps communities adjust to local reductions in DOD spending.��

With a sheet cake, of course.

Six professors from the , the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Business sliced up some cake at a recent meeting to discuss two UofL cybersecurity programs funded by a new $580,000 grant from the National Security Agency. The programs will be offered beginning in the spring 2018 semester and are aimed at reaching working professionals and members of the law enforcement community.

One program will teach cybersecurity measures to public safety employees and another will use common off-the-shelf hardware and software to design new cybersecurity teaching methods. They will be offered online and on-campus through occasional Saturday class meetings.

The interdisciplinary programs are an extension of the University of Louisville Cyber Security Initiative. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency designated UofL as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense ����ֱ�� (CAE-CDE); that designation was recently extended through 2019.

“The University of Louisville offers related undergraduate degrees in criminal justice, computer information systems with a concentration in information security and a graduate certificate in cybersecurity that is available online,” said Adel Elmaghraby, professor and chair of the Speed School’s computer engineering and computer science departments, who is principal investigator on the grant.

The other program team members are:

• Michael Losavio, professor, criminal justice (A&S) and computer engineering and computer science (Speed);
• Adrian Lauf, assistant professor, computer engineering and computer science (Speed);
• Rodney Brewer, instructor, criminal justice (A&S);
• John Reed, assistant professor, criminal justice and associate director of the Southern Police Institute (A&S);
• Jeff Hieb, assistant professor, engineering fundamentals (Speed);
• Ghiyoung Im, associate professor, computer information systems (COB); and
• Andrew Wright, assistant professor, computer information systems (COB).

“We are all geared up to enhance our cybersecurity education offering and help fill the skills gap in this area of national priority,” Elmaghraby said.

Roman Yampolskiy, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science at UofL’s��Speed School of Engineering, will share his insights into the current and future reality of artificial intelligence at the next Beer with a Scientist event, March 15 at 8 p.m. at Against the Grain Brewery, 401 E. Main St.

“Many scientists, futurologists and philosophers have predicted that humanity will achieve a technological breakthrough and create Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), machines that can perform any task as well as a human can,” Yampolskiy said. “It has been suggested that AGI may be a positive or negative factor in all domains, including technology and economy. I will attempt to analyze some likely changes caused by arrival of AGI.”

is interested in AI, AI safety, cybersecurity, digital forensics, pattern recognition and games related to artificial intelligence. He has written a book, “,” that addresses issues related to ensuring this technology remains beneficial to humanity.

A 30-minute presentation will be followed by an informal Q&A session. Admission is free. Purchase of beer, other beverages or menu items is not required but is encouraged.

For more information and to suggest future Beer with a Scientist topics, follow Upcoming dates:�� April 5, May 17, and June 14.