Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and White House Science Advisor John Holdren recently announced that the Department of Energy will provide a $25 million grant over the next five years to support cybersecurity education.
The trio made the announcement at the historically Black Norfolk State University, located in Norfolk, Va. The new grant will support the creation of a new cybersecurity consortium consisting of 13 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, two national labs and the Charleston County school district.
Biden made the announcement as part of a roundtable discussion with a classroom of cybersecurity leaders and students at NSU. The visit builds on President Barack Obama’s announcements on cybersecurity, focusing on the critical need to fill the growing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals in the U.S. job market, while also diversifying the pipeline of talent in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
“We are very excited about the outstanding opportunity that this new program represents,” said Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Bill Goldstein. “To solve the pressing and challenging cybersecurity problems that face us, we will require a diverse workforce, including diversity in experience, point of view and backgrounds, to help us meet our mission needs and anticipate future challenges.”
The other HBCUs participating in the program are Clark Atlanta University, Paine College, Bowie State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin University, Denmark Technical College, Morris College, South Carolina State University, Voorhees College and University of the Virgin Islands.