Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and
Ron Wyden announced Oregon State University (OSU) is receiving $1,727,359 from
the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s CyberCorps Scholarship for Service
(SFS) to prepare highly qualified cybersecurity professionals to serve in
federal, state, local, and tribal governments.
“We must be prepared to take on the threat of cyber attacks
on our critical infrastructure, as they pose a significant security risk to our
nation,” said Senator Merkley. “This
program will help train the cybersecurity professionals of the future, help strengthen
and safeguard our infrastructure systems to stand up to this growing challenge,
and prepare OSU students to enter a well-paid and in demand job field.”“The constant and ever-evolving threat to cybersecurity from
bad actors demands a rigorous and unflinching commitment to protect
individuals’ privacy and communities’ safety,” Wyden said. “I’m glad OSU has earned this federal investment to
prepare students for good-paying jobs in this crucial field that defends our
state and country from cyberattacks.”
This project is supported by the CyberCorps® SFS program,
which funds proposals establishing or continuing scholarship programs in
cybersecurity and aligns with the U.S. National Cyber Strategy to develop a
superior cybersecurity workforce. NSF intends to award a total of $4,799,707
over five years to support scholarships of 29 undergraduate and graduate
students in four cohorts, emphasizing recruitment, retention, and placement of
underrepresented and underserved groups in cybersecurity including women,
first-generation college students, and low-income students.
“The U.S. is facing a massive shortage of qualified
cybersecurity professionals. In Oregon alone, there are over 7,500 openings for
cybersecurity and related jobs. This NSF grant will allow OSU to provide
scholarships to students in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science’s
cybersecurity program, and provide support for OSU’s new CyberClinic, which is
an innovative program where students participate in a series of professionally
guided clinical rotations to provide cybersecurity services to underserved
organizations across the region. We thank Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley
for their support for this grant opportunity, and for their efforts to improve
US cybersecurity workforce development.” said
Rakesh Bobba, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Oregon State
University.
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