NORTHFIELD, Vt. — Norwich University dedicated the Senator Patrick Leahy School of Cybersecurity and Advanced Computing today during the “U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy Cyber Symposium.”
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Formerly the School of Cybersecurity, Data Science, and Computing, the new name reflects Leahy’s longstanding support of cybersecurity education at Norwich University and in the state of Vermont.
Vermont’s longest-serving U.S. senator and the fifth-longest-serving senator in U.S. history, Leahy’s career of eight terms spans almost five decades.
His pending retirement will cap 25 years of cybersecurity education support that helped birth the Norwich University Applied Research Institutes and land the university and senior military college over $70M in cybersecurity-related research and development grants and contracts.
Norwich University most recently announced $4 million in federal funding to create an artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and quantum computing academic and experiential learning center.
Federal funding also established Norwich University as the lead institution of DoD Cyber Institutes, a partnership established in Fall 2020 among the six Senior Military Colleges, of which Norwich is the oldest and include: The Citadel, University of North Georgia, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and Virginia Military Institute.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to have the cybersecurity and advanced computing school at Norwich University bear my name,” Leahy said. “The students educated here will be central to understanding how to protect our infrastructure and businesses, and keep citizens secure.”
The symposium brought together U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt.; Norwich University President Mark Anarumo, Ph.D.; Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert J. Skinner, Director, Defense Information Systems Agency Commander, Joint Force Headquarters - Department of Defense Information Network (DODIN); Commissioner Michael Harrington, Vermont Department of Labor; distinguished experts and special guests for a day-long discussion on the latest innovations in cybersecurity and the importance of cyber education and workforce development in Vermont.
Leahy, who joined the symposium remotely, was honored at a noon unveiling of the newly named school in his honor.
Norwich University programs are consistently ranked among the nation’s best for cybersecurity education. Norwich University is recognized as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and has received designation as a Center of Digital Forensics Academic Excellence (CDFAE) by the Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3).
Most recently, Norwich's online graduate program was named one of the top ten best cybersecurity graduate programs in the country by Universities.com.
Norwich is also home to [email protected], a National Security Agency and National Science Foundation-funded cybersecurity camp for high school students.
Editor’s Note: Photos courtesy of Norwich University.