Formed to increase the number of students who are aware of, and prepared for, intelligence careers
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 4, 2014) — Administrators, faculty and students from EKU, Morehead State University and Kentucky State University were on hand Wednesday, Dec. 3, for an announcement of a grant and partnership agreement for the Bluegrass State Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence.
The announcement was held at the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security Intelligence Fusion Center in the Transportation Cabinet Building in Frankfort.
The Bluegrass State Intelligence Studies Consortium was formed to address the urgent need to increase the number of students from Kentucky and nearby states who are aware of, and prepared for, intelligence community careers.
The center is innovative, officials say, because it targets a population of motivated, but under-prepared students who are potential intelligence community employees. Additionally, the proposal includes a Homeland Security Intelligence Initiative to foster increased interchanges among academic institutions and regionally-based federal, state and local intelligence agencies.
The long-term goal of the project is to provide students with research, scientific, technological, analytical and critical language knowledge, skills and abilities that, when combined with their academic disciplinary backgrounds, will ensure the intelligence community has a diverse, highly-qualified and motivated pool of applicants from Kentucky and nearby states.
Speakers at the ceremony included Dr. Allen Ault, dean of EKU’s College of Justice & Safety; MSU President Dr. Wayne D. Andrews, and KSU President Dr. Raymond Burse.
“We will be improving our intelligence and national security programs by expanding and improving undergraduate and graduate courses and certificates, offering a number of outreach programs such as workshops and an annual Kentucky Intelligence Colloquium, plus providing scholarships and grants for students and grants for faculty, “Ault said. “This is a superb opportunity for us to both increase enrollments and better prepare students for future careers in intelligence and national security.”
Dr. Michael W. Hail, assistant dean and professor of government at Morehead and a project co-director, said, “We are really honored to be named a national center of academic excellence.”
For more information, contact Dr. Michael Collier, Homeland Security Program coordinator at EKU and also a project co-director, at [email protected] or 859-622-6762.
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