Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology

The National Security Agency/Central Security Service, America’s crypto logic organization that coordinates highly specialized activities to protect U.S. government information systems, has designated UALR as a National Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE). UALR is recognized due to the efforts and activities of the Center for Excellence for Assurance, Security, and Software Usability, Research, and Education (ASSURE), a university-wide effort which is centered within the College of Engineering and Information Technology (EIT).

Institutions meeting the Carnegie Foundation’s classifications of Research University/Very High, Research University/High, and Doctoral Research University are eligible to apply for the designation.

Each applicant must pass a rigorous review demonstrating its commitment to academic excellence in Information Assurarance (IA) education. UALR is the first and only institution in Arkansas to have this prestigious designation.

UALR joins other national IT training centers – including Florida State, West Point, Purdue University, Stanford University, Syracuse University, Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, North Carolina State University, Northeastern University and others. As a Center of Excellence, UALR information assurance students will be eligible for scholarship programs and research grants.

“The NSA designation makes UALR a regional, if not national, center for securing the nation’s information infrastructure,” said Dr. Mary Good, dean of UALR’s EIT College. “This designation of NSA Center of Excellence will attract federal and other research funding that can make Arkansas computer networks and other telecommunications systems more secure from terrorism – both domestic and foreign.

UALR initiated its information assurance programs in 2004 offering a minor and post-graduate certificate melding instruction in computer science and criminal justice to train students in the growing international field of computer security and protection. The programs also add marketability to majors in business, information science, criminal justice, and systems engineering.

According to Dr. Sean Geoghegan and Dr. Remzi Seker, the lead investigators on this UALR effort, the designation as a CAEIAE will make UALR’s students and researchers eligible for scholarships and grants through the Department of Defense Information Assurance Scholarship Program and the Federal Cyber Service Scholarship for Service Program. The investigators also stated that receiving this designation following the first application is unusual. UALR’s successful completion of this effort in the first application is due to the high-quality activities in the ASSURE Center.

CAEIAEs serve as regional centers of IA expertise and have begun to provide more programs aimed at retooling and retaining current federal and state information technology personnel.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Information Quality Program (MIT IQ), will present a five-day workshop on Information Quality: Principles and Foundations. The workshop will be offered May 19 – 23, 2008 at the Downtown Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas. Instructors will include Dr. Richard Wang of MIT and Dr. John Talburt, Dr. Elizabeth Pierce, and Dr. Ningning Wu of UALR.

Studies have repeatedly shown that inaccurate, incomplete, inconsistent, and out-of-date information create operational errors, poor decisions, and damaged customer relations that cost government and industry billions of dollars a year. The purpose of the workshop is to give the participants the fundamental skills and knowledge needed to address data quality challenges and enable them to deliver the benefits of improved information quality. As part of the workshop, attendees will focus on projects designed to bring practical value and have substantial financial impact in their own organizations.

Participants will learn from academic leaders with real-world experience, preview emerging technologies, and build a network of successful peers.

“Moving the IQ Principles and Foundations workshop from Cambridge to Little Rock is a big plus for UALR’s College of Engineering and Information Technology. It allows us to showcase our new graduate degree programs in information quality while delivering real value to participating organizations,” said Dr. John Talburt, UALR Professor of Information Science.

“IQ Principles and Foundations is a pragmatic and rigorous workshop based on industry experiences and grounded in academic disciplines,” said Dr. Richard Wang, Director of the MIT Information Quality Program. “With everything UALR is doing with information quality, moving the workshop there only makes sense.”

Further information and online registration for the workshop is available at www.UALRIQ.com or by contacting Rick McGraw at (501) 940-7425 or rmcgraw@mit.edu