Contact: Jack Bailey
(304) 766-4109
Jbaile19@wvstateu.edu
     
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University (WVSU) hosted a grand opening ceremony today for its new Cybersecurity Innovation Center (CIC), a cutting-edge facility dedicated to promoting cybersecurity awareness and knowledge within West Virginia and beyond. 

Located on the fourth floor of Wallace Hall on the school’s Institute campus, the new center has a mission to educate, innovate and collaborate and to safeguard the community against cybersecurity threats. 

“This is a milestone day for West Virginia State University as we officially open this center, which will be a leader in training the workforce of tomorrow on the latest cybersecurity technology,” said WVSU President Ericke S. Cage. “This center will help meet the needs of the state and region’s workforce by providing a highly trained cybersecurity workforce to meet the job market demands for this rapidly growing field.”

The establishment of the new Cybersecurity Innovation Center was made possible in part by a $764,792 grant from the Kanawha County Commission in March 2022. The United States  Department of Education has also contributed $2.5 million to the establishment of the center to work in collaboration with Marshall University on cybersecurity for critical infrastructure. 

The CIC boasts a state-of-the-art learning laboratory, providing an immersive and hands-on experience for students in defending critical public infrastructure. Students in the cybersecurity program gain valuable practical skills that prepare them to address real-world challenges in the field of cybersecurity.

In addition, the center takes a proactive approach to cybersecurity by working externally to educate the community about ever-evolving cybersecurity threats. 

The center conducts workshops, seminars, and awareness programs for students, government employees, and other community members, providing them with the latest techniques to protect personal data and businesses from cyber-attacks.

For more information contact WVSU Cybersecurity Center Director Dr. Ali Al-Sinayyid at ali.alsinayyid@wvstateu.edu or (304) 766-3391.

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West Virginia State University is a public, land-grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service, and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.