The Wichita State College of Engineering has expanded its cybersecurity program by hiring Lincoln Schroeder, a cybersecurity specialist who has recently retired from the Air Force after serving 22 years. Schroeder is an engineering educator in the Department of Engineering Technology. The cybersecurity program serves students pursuing cybersecurity degrees and industry professionals wanting to learn how to best protect their companies from cybersecurity threats.
To support this growing program, Wichita State has hired Lincoln Schroeder, a cybersecurity specialist who has recently retired from the Air Force after serving 22 years. Schroeder is an engineering educator in the Department of Engineering Technology.
During his military service, he led teams of highly demanded cybersecurity experts in missions to support U.S. cybersecurity and taught numerous cybersecurity seminars. He is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP), the most globally recognized standard of achievement in the cybersecurity industry.
“I believe knowledge in cybersecurity is valuable in almost all professions,” Schroeder said. “Most professions work with digital information – processing data, storing it, and transmitting it. Users and maintainers of information technology are usually unaware of the threats, vulnerabilities, and risks they face or introduce.
“Many organizational leaders know that they need cybersecurity but can be overwhelmed by the solutions offered and rarely fully understand how their policies and resourcing are impacting risks to their organization’s mission,” said Schroeder, whose expertise lies in helping industry leaders mitigate such risks. “Many aspects of cyberspace are not difficult to learn, rather there is so much to learn and know.”
WSU offers a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Technology – Cybersecurity and a graduate certificate in Information Assurance and Cybersecurity, taught by faculty from both computer science and engineering technology departments, who are experienced in cyber-physical systems, communications security, network security and cloud security.
The College of Engineering has two cybersecurity labs with virtual firewall environments, where students can safely develop cybersecurity skills through hands-on problem solving: The Security, Privacy, Trust and Ethics in Computing (SPriTE) Lab for graduate level cybersecurity and research and the Engineering Technology Cybersecurity Lab for undergraduates and non-degree students.
In the future, the College of Engineering intends to offer badge courses designed to meet the needs of private and public sectors intuitions, including military, law enforcement, health care, education, banking, aviation, and hospitality and entertainment.
There is also a growing focus on community outreach designed to develop the next generation of cybersecurity specialists. The College of Engineering is already doing this through its summer camps, which will for the second year host a Cybersecurity Boot Camp in partnership with the 184th Intelligence Wing of the Kansas Air National Guard.
Future cybersecurity outreach efforts will feature an advanced cybersecurity range, to host coding and network penetration competitions, and support hands-on demonstrations to the general public, civic groups, K-12 schools and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
“WSU College of Engineering is committed to being a leader in meeting private and public sector needs in cyber defense,” said Jan Twomey, associate dean of graduate studies, research and faculty success.
WSU’s cybersecurity degree programs are being developed to conform to the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and National Security Agency.
“The core of the program involves learning many foundational concepts from computer science and electrical engineering, and then tying those concepts together to produce a graduate who can contribute greatly to the growing needs of the technical side of the cybersecurity workforce.”
To learn more, prospective students and interested industry should contact Schroeder at 316-978-7690 or lincoln.schroeder@wichita.edu.
The mission of Wichita State University is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master’s and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State’s Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university’s vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.