The White House has announced a new five-year, $25 million grant program of the U.S. Department of Energy to foster cybersecurity education at minority serving institutions. The announcement of the program was made at historically Black Norfolk State University in Virginia, the lead institution of the new program.
The new Cybersecurity Workforce Pipeline Consortium aims to help fill the growing need for cybersecurity professionals nationwide. It is estimated the jobs in the field are increasing at 12 times the rate of job growth in other sectors of the U.S. economy. This effort hopes to ensure that Blacks and other minorities are well represented in this growing field.
In addition to Norfolk State University, other HBCUs who will participate in the consortium are Allen University, Benedict College, Bowie State University, Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Denmark Technical College, Morris College, North Carolina A&T State University, Paine College, South Carolina State University, the University of the Virgin Islands, and Voorhees College,