“Setting up a cybersecurity program in today’s environment is not an easy task. It’s not easy to find faculty to teach the programs… other universities will have difficulty setting up programs like that, but I think St. Bonaventure has been very successful – and we have attracted some top faculty – globally recognized faculty in cybersecurity,” said Hossein Sarrafzadeh, the chair of the cybersecurity program at St. Bonaventure University and founder and director of the Western New York Cybersecurity Research Center.
St. Bonaventure is one of few colleges and universities to offer a cybersecurity program. Only four years old, it has quickly become one of the university’s most exciting and different majors offered. Its most unique point of difference is that not all of the classes that cybersecurity students enroll in take place on St. Bonaventure’s campus; some classes are taught by professors at Hilbert College, located in Hamburg, New York, which St. Bonaventure students attend via digital classroom technology.
“We have a relationship with a company called Keypath, and Keypath provides the platform,” said Sarrafzadeh. “I wasn’t a believer of online learning. I wasn’t a person who thought online learning would be effective if it was 100% online, and Keypath has proven me wrong because our students are very happy. Our program is growing at a fast rate.”
St. Bonaventure and Hilbert College have had success where the majority of schools have not. They have shown an ability to attract a fraction of the small group of professionals capable of teaching this curriculum to their programs.
“A lot of universities are competing to hire faculty, and the fact that Hilbert was able to set up a program, a very good program, is something that we really applaud Hilbert for,” said Sarrafzadeh. “There’s a big shortage of cybersecurity experts, that includes academics. By 2021, there’s going to be a gap of 3.5 million in the number of cybersecurity experts that the industry needs. [Research that supports this data can be found at https://cybersecurityventures.com/jobs] And so, you would expect every university to be trying to contribute to solving this problem and you can expect that faculty will be hard to find.”
“What it says about St. Bonaventure University is that they are willing to bring a new major that is needed in the workforce,” said Robert Gerow, a senior cybersecurity major at St. Bonaventure.
While it may seem shocking that small schools like St. Bonaventure and Hilbert would be some of the most attractive schools to these experts, Sarrafzadeh offered a very logical explanation as to why St. Bonaventure been so successful in those pursuits.
“You know we have a new president in place, a very visionary person who understands where and what needs to be done. And he allows his team to operate to achieve results. He’s a results-focused person, a person with high integrity, an academic who has done very well in the past in academic leadership, and I think that contributes,” said Sarrafzadeh. “So, it prepares the stage for the team here to hire top faculty, and I think it’s happening in other departments as well. I contributed to the vision that is driving the institution these days. The board is very supportive of that as well…so I think those two factors are the main contributing factors for making St. Bonaventure an attractive place for people to join and work.”
Sarrafzadeh also said, “One my faculty members got his first industry certification when he was 15,” said Sarrafzadeh.
Overall, Sarrafzadeh is very excited about the potential of his program as he believes in everybody involved. His aspirations for it are sky high.
“Our students are publishing their assignments on Youtube, and I get excited when I watch those students talk like a professional,” said Sarrafzadeh. “So, we have some of the best faculty that you could ever be taught by. They believe in the hands-on philosophy of the department and they can guide the students into the industry because of their industry connections.”
“What I see in the future is…2022 is my target, “said Sarrafzadeh. “By 2022, we will have 300 students in both computer science and cybersecurity. That’s the minimum I’ve set for us to achieve, and I believe we will go over that number.”
By Jared Leve, News Editor
levejl16@bonaventure.edu
