MVCC Named National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense

Week of August 8, 2016 MVCC named National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense

MVCC has been designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Two-Year Education (CAE2Y) by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. “The CAE2Y designation certifies that MVCC’s Cybersecurity program meets the highest national standards for cybersecurity education,” said Jake Mihevc, Associate Dean of Business, Cybersecu- rity, and Computer Sciences at MVCC. “The NSA and DHS have been very active in supporting cybersecurity education to meet the growing national demand for cybersecurity professionals. MVCC’s GenCyber camp for secondary school students and teachers this summer is the first demonstration of that support.” MVCC offers an associate in science degree and a one-year certificate in Cybersecurity and is one of only KEEPING THE CODE SAFE – MVCC President Randall VanWagoner, Ph.D., discusses how the Cyber- 40 community colleges nationwide to security program at the College has grown from 26 to 130 students in just five years. Joining him was U.S. Congressman Richard Hanna and Jake Mihevc, Associate Dean of Business, Cybersecurity, and Computer hold this distinction. The designation is Sciences at MVCC. valid through the 2021 academic year. MVCC’s Cybersecurity AS program has grown from 26 students to 130 students Cultural Series tickets to go on sale Monday over the last three years. Many MVCC Cybersecurity graduates remain in the Tickets to all events in the Fall season of the MVCC Cultural Series will go on region, choosing to transfer to Utica sale at noon Monday, Aug. 15, at www.mvcc.edu/tickets. College or SUNY Polytechnic Institute to The first event of the season is a screening of the movie “Warcraft” at 7 p.m. continue their studies. Wednesday, Aug. 24, in Schafer Theater. Admission is $5 general, $2 for MVCC The CAE2Y program, jointly sponsored employees, and free for MVCC students. by the National Security Agency and the Headlining the Fall series is actor, social justice activist, and social media mega- Department of Homeland Security, recog- power George Takei, who will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, in the nizes colleges and universities that have Jorgensen Event Center. Admission is $35 general, $25 for MVCC employees, and met standards of excellence in providing free for MVCC students. quality cybersecurity awareness, train- Other notable events in the lineup are a performance by comedian and actor ing, and education to the community. The Dave Coulier, best known as Joey from the ABC television series “Full House,” at program aims to reduce vulnerability in 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25; a concert by local native Ryan Quinn, who appeared on our national information infrastructure by NBC’s “The Voice,” at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2; a lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning promoting higher education and research Poet and Award-winning Memoirist Peter Balakian at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, and in cybersecurity and producing profes- Manhattan Medium Thomas John at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. sionals with cybersecurity expertise for For the complete series lineup, visit www.mvcc.edu/culture. Events include con- the nation. certs, comedians, lectures, film screenings and discussions, workshops, family fun “Our region is fast becoming one of our events, and more. The Cultural Series is brought to you by MVCC’s Cultural Events Council, in collaboration with MVCC’s Program Board, with significant support from cybersecurity the Student Activity Fee. Continued on Page 3

1 Communitas Albrecht takes AIM to help local industry

Note: This article was submitted by AIM Director Cory Albrecht. It was written for FuzeHub.com The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a national network of specialists who assist U.S. manufacturers, has designated the Advanced Institute for Manufacturing (AIM) at Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) as an MEP center. AIM will provide business and technical development, manufacturing training and instruction, and certification-related services to manufacturers in a six-county region that include Oneida, Herkimer, Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie, and Otsego counties. Since 1988, the MEP system has been strengthening manufacturing in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. New York State is home to 10 MEP centers that have regional designations and an 11th MEP center, FuzeHub, which connects manufacturers to statewide resources. Funding for NYS MEP centers is provided by multi-year grants from Empire State Devel- opment’s (ESD) Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI), and by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) MEP Kids get glimpse of program. parent’s workplace Quality, Safety, and Cybersecurity It was a day of games, fun and getting to know what mom and dad do when they trek off to work each day. In an interview with FuzeHub, AIM Director Cory Albrecht described The Wellness Council hosted its inaugural “Bring Your the new MEP center’s mission, opportunities, and challenges. Albrecht, Child/Grandchild to Work” day this past Friday. a former business development manager and vice president for Mohawk The group of children on hand had the opportunity Valley Applied Technical Corporation (MVATC), became AIM’s full-time to goof around with Star Wars bubbles before getting director in April. The transition from MVATC to AIM was “a natural one”, a tour of the Utica Campus. They were given access he said, as AIM will deliver “all of the typical core MEP services”. These to the biology lab, where Assistant Professor Melissa include lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and ISO-certification programs; Barlett, Ph.D., explained all the neat experiments per- environmental compliance, food safety, and OSHA training; and strategic formed by the students. They also toured the nursing business services. lab before heading out into the quad for some fun and In addition, Albrecht says, AIM will provide cybersecurity programs for games. small manufacturers. According to Fortinet and as reported by FuzeHub, Following a picnic, the children were given an un- hackers launched 8.63 million cyberattacks against 59 manufacturers manned aerial systems (drone) demonstration by Pro- from October 1, 2015 to April 30, 2016. Most of these attacks targeted fessor William Judycki. The activities wrapped up with larger firms, but smaller manufacturers also need to prepare. Locally, the the children going to the Jorgensen Center to play Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council (MVREDC) has basketball, run around the track and splash around in designated cybersecurity as a key focus. AIM will help manufacturers to the swimming pool. leverage the region’s university and private-sector resources in this area. “We have plans to do this again in the future during the February and April school breaks,” said Gail War- Supply Chain Development chol, Coordinator Healthcare Careers in the Center for Corporate and Community Education. She wanted to extend her appreciation to Zachery Wessenger, a high “The economy of the Mohawk Valley is changing for the better,” Albrecht school student from Whitesboro who volunteer to help. says, and the Marcy Nanocenter holds great promise for local and regional The day wrapped up with the children receiving manufacturers who become part of the semiconductor supply chain. Lo- Hawk magnets cated at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy, the 450-acre site is already and tattoos, home to ams AG, a leading global semiconductor manufacturer. The CCED summer balance of the world’s largest shovel-ready semiconductor site is being camp t-shirts developed for additional semiconductor manufacturing facilities. and a certificate For local companies who want to engage these large manufacturers, of participation. obtaining quality certifications and implementing process improvements They spent the can be critical. “We need to prepare our small and medium manufactur- final hour of the ers for the process of entering the supply chain for major technology day shadow- companies,” Albrecht explains. “Our job at AIM,” he adds, “is to educate ing their parent/ and train them so that they have an opportunity.” Part of that job may grandparent to involve answering questions about cleanroom requirements and avail- see what they do able technologies. at work.

2 Communitas cybersecurity national designation - Continued from Page 1 nation’s most advanced hubs of cyber research and development and we are fortunate to be anchored by the cutting edge work happening every day at Rome Lab,” said U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna. “MVCC’s designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber by the NSA builds on this work, providing our area with yet another critical as- set in cyberspace. It’s a testament to MVCC’s bold leader- ship, strategic vision, and enduring commitment to train our region’s workforce for the challenges of the future.” To earn the designation, MVCC’s Cybersecurity AS and certificate programs had to meet stringent Center of Aca- demic Excellence criteria and mapping curricula to a core set of cyber defense knowledge units. This included: • Developing state-of-the-art physical and virtual lab facilities for cybersecurity instruction. The virtual platform is capable of delivering more than 100 concurrent virtual machines through standard web interfaces and allows students to experiment with cybersecurity tools and techniques within a virtual “darknet,” preventing collateral damage to production systems. The virtual platform is leveraged within cybersecurity courses to provide the highest-level instruction, and allows MVCC to host the CNY Hackathon and its extremely complex exercises. • Aligning MVCC’s cybersecurity course content and laboratory exercises with the rigorous set of knowledge units required of CAE2Y institutions by the NSA/DHS. • Demonstrating that MVCC encourages the practice criminal justice and computer-technology to address current of cybersecurity throughout the institution — in other needs in the cybersecurity field, preparing students to identify fields of study, in non-credit professional development vulnerabilities and threats that affect corporate and govern- courses, and in the College’s Information System Se- ment computer networks, to protect critical information in curity Plan. cyberspace and to effectively design, implement, and support • Developing transfer agreements with local four-year security policies for a large-scale enterprise network. Stu- institutions that offer Information Assurance Programs, dents examine a wide variety of security analysis/defensive such as SUNY Polytechnic Institute and Utica College. tools and concepts, and then attempt to circumvent them. • Participating in cybersecurity competitions, such as the This program prepares students to transfer to upper division CNY Hackathon, Cyber Aces online competition, and Cybersecurity programs or assume entry-level positions in the Hacker Battleship and Crypto Challenge competi- the Cybersecurity Industry. tions at the Rochester Security B-Sides event. The certificate provides students with an overview of • Sponsoring cybersecurity-related community events, computer and network security. It is designed for Information such as the CNY Hackathon, Cyber Lecture Series, Technology professionals that would like to update their skills, presentations for local organizations and middle school certifications, and credentials to better qualify for positions in and high school students. our local cybersecurity industry. Learn more about MVCC’s MVCC’s Cybersecurity degree combines the study of cybersecurity programs at www.mvcc.edu/cyberlab.

UPSEU, Oneida County reach contract agreement

Under an agreement approved by 2017 for employees at the top of the salary age. Oneida County lawmakers, MVCC’s Blue scale who, as a result, are not eligible for The Board of Legislators passed the Collar Unit of the United Public Service step movement based on years of service. agreement 23-0 this past month. The Employees Union will receive pay hikes Additionally, an 80-cent an hour differ- contract is retroactive to Jan. 1. The last under a new two-year contract. ential that is paid to about half the union contract expired Dec. 31. This includes wage increases of 1.5 members will be eliminated July 1, 2017. The county reached a two-year agree- percent for both this year and next for In its place, $1,664 will be added to the ment with its largest employee bargaining employees on the salary scale and raises salary schedule for all employees. group, the White Collar Unit, earlier this of 2.75 percent in 2016 and 2.5 percent in There are no changes in health cover- year.

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3 Communitas August Institute kicks off new school year MVCC’s annual August Institute will be held on Thursday and • What Stands Between Us Friday, Aug 18 and 19. • Content Management for Web Uploaders The online registration for August Institute is now available. • Preparing Children for Natural Disasters and Active Some of the workshops being offer this year include Building Shooters Collaborative Empowered Groups, How to Run Your Fastest • Google Apps: Level 2 Boilermaker Ever, and The Practice of Mindfulness As We Pre- • So You Want To Be A Club Advisor pare In Emergency Situations. • Teaching SquaresThe Art and Practice of Using Henna Some workshops will focus on lifestyle. • Fish Trying To See Water: Understanding Gender The registration link can be found on our website on the • Starfish Kickoff faculty/staff page, and on MVCC Today. For your conve- • ATD Reading Strategies Toolbox nience, visit: http://www2.mvcc.edu/training/aug/

• Net Neutrality and Some Technology Tips at MVCC • Space Elevator: Next Step Towards Space Exploration • Heroin: The Addicted Person, Family, and Community Concerns, Available Treatment • MVCC’s OER Grant • Building Collaborative Empowered Groups • How to Run Your Fastest Boilermaker Ever • The Practice of Mindfulness As We Prepare In Emer- gency Situations • African American Vernacular English (AAVE): An Ameri- can Dialect • Creating a Digital Watercolor • How To Be a Trans Ally • Afternoon Boxed Lunch • Payroll Authorization and Pay Rate Training • Tech Tools with The New Instructional Design Librarian Local business lends a hand By Kelly Fleming iServe Mohawk Valley Coordinator Katz hosts interactive On May 24, a local business (Best Buy) joined forces with iServe Mohawk Valley - a Volunteer Generation grant funded program based on the MVCC Rome Campus - for a day of ser- lecture at Pima CC vice project. Regional District Manager Joel Tranko coordinated Professor David Katz, Executive Director of Organizational with local store Manager Nicole Deleone to bring 11 other Best Development, had a busy summer. He visited Pima Commu- Buy Associates with them to pitch in on a work day at Loaves nity College in June and delivered a plenary presentation and and Fishes Soup Kitchen, 401 North Washington Street, Rome. a breakout session at their annual Professional Development Associates provided much needed help at the Soup Kitchen Day. by painting two restrooms, cleaning out the basement, sorting Pima CC is a comprehensive, multi-campus college serving items to be donated and peeling many pounds of potatoes for 40,000 students within the Tucson metropolitan area in south- the evening side dish: German Potato Salad. ern Arizona. Loaves and Fishes has grown from originally serving 25 Katz’s interactive presentations dealt with topics very familiar meals a week out of the Rome Wesleyan Church basement, to the MVCC community; emotional intelligence, an affirming to approximately 2,000 meals weekly from its new Washington strengths based culture, and empowering students, colleagues Street location. Meals are served for breakfast and dinner, free and teams by applying current brain research and positive psy- of charge to the public every weekend and on Holidays. Home chology to learning and relationships. delivered meals are also taken to those unable to travel on site, He then went to San Antonio, Texas in July to visit with The via an iServe volunteer. There is also a free clothing donation Alamo Colleges (a consortium of five distinct two year colleges center on site along with support groups, children’s activities with a total enrollment of nearly 60,000 students) and deliver a and other special events. keynote address and breakout session on Leading Collabora- Best Buy associates from throughout New York and Penn- tive Groups. sylvania were in town for a regional convention. Tranko stated The presentation was given to their Unified Staff Council (a Best Buy has adopted the policy of setting aside time to have very large representative body of 100 people which is equiva- associates help out at a local non-profit, as part of their annual lent to our senate). gathering. This occurs across the Nation in whatever location According to Katz his biggest takeaways were one, it is very their convention may be held. iServe Mohawk Valley eagerly hot in Arizona and Texas, and two, that many colleges are facilitated this effort to help the associates fulfill their obligation interested in our progressive ideas on building a dynamic and while assisting a local nonprofit to thrive and grow. affirming culture for our students and staff! 4 Communitas