January 25, 2006

Richard Rackley, President, Fountainhead College of Technology (FCT), visited California State Polytechnic University's (known as "Cal Poly Pomona") Center for Information Assurance (CIA). During the visit, Mr. Rackley met with faculty members Frederick Gallegos and Dr. Daniel Manson as well as Dr. Brum, Vice President - Instructional and Information Technology and Dr. Morales, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Cal Poly Pomona has been designated as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE) by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). "The goal of the program is to reduce vulnerability in our national information infrastructure by promoting higher education in information assurance (IA), and producing a growing number of professionals with IA expertise in various disciplines" (NSA.gov).

FCT members perform site visits to other colleges to share information assurance curriculum and "compare notes" on cybersecurity initiatives. Mr. Rackley toured the Cal Poly facilities, including their security labs.

Site visits are part of the academic outreach program initiated by FCT's Center for Information Assurance & Cybersecurity Training (IACT). Center members have also visited Information Assurance centers at Kenessaw State University, West Point, and the University of Memphis."We always learn something that we can bring back to our Network Security & Forensics bachelor's program," said Rackley, "reaching out to other academic institutions with similar programs allows us to enhance our own program, as well as to contribute to others."

About Fountainhead College of Technology's (FCT) Center for Information Assurance & Cybersecurity Training (IACT)

Fountainhead College of Technology, formerly Tennessee Institute of Electronics, was founded in 1947 and is committed to using it resources to significantly contribute to efforts to secure the nation's critical infrastructure. In 1999 the college began offering an associate's degree in Information Technology with curriculum developed to include information security training. In 2002 the college began development of a baccalaureate degree in Network Security and Forensics; and in 2003 Fountainhead College of Technology became the first college in the southeast to offer a computer security focused baccalaureate degree. The mission of the IACT center is to develop and maintain a strong information assurance curriculum that adheres to national standards, and to also address the cybersecurity needs of the community by offering training and support for Fountainhead College of Technology students, staff, and faculty; local law enforcement; government agencies; and information technology professionals.

For more information, please visit the official IACT center website at: http://www.iawire.org, or contact Tammy Alexander, Program Coordinator at tam@iawire.org.