July 11, 2006 Laurel, Maryland

As information assurance becomes an increasingly critical need to the nation’s security, higher education must help define the emerging and evolving field to meet current threats and anticipate new ones.

That was part of the message delivered by Capitol College President Michael Wood as he gave a keynote address at the national Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education in June. Wood was invited to speak on behalf of college and university leaders around the country who are advocates of information assurance education.

“Why should educational leaders think about information assurance?” Wood said in his remarks. “Why do I invest at least some mental energy in it? One reason is simply because the importance of the field of information assurance as an academic enterprise is huge and growing.”

Capitol has become a leader in information assurance education. The college was re-designated for three more years as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security. Capitol first received certification in 2003, one of a select group of universities and colleges to receive this recognition.

The master of science in information assurance (formerly network security) is the college’s most popular degree program. And recently, Capitol unveiled its Critical Infrastructure and Cyber Protection Center to promote information assurance training and education as well as alliances and research.

“IA is not your grandfather’s ‘engineering;’ it’s not even your father’s ‘computer science,’” Wood said. “It represents a complex problem requiring quick, practical and reliable solutions. IA is born of real-world exigencies, not just neat academic ideas.”

Read the Full Text of President Wood’s Speech (PDF)