Rose State College Announces Homeland Security Institute
Published: November 1st, 2014
MIDWEST CITY, Oklahoma – Rose State College has announced establishment of a Homeland Security Institute. The Institute, the first educational program of its kind in Oklahoma, will provide education and training in domestic and foreign terrorism prevention, emergency command procedures, and management of natural and man-made disasters. “The Homeland Security Institute at Rose State College will make our state and our nation a safer place,” said Kim Carter, Director, Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security.
This new program has four key components: counter-terrorism, cyber security, emergency management, and utility security. The counter-terrorism educational phase will begin January 2015 with the launching of four online classes. These classes will be part of the college’s criminal justice program.
“Rose State College already has the nation’s leading community college cyber security program,” said Jeanie Webb, president of Rose State College. “The college is also known for its police and criminal justice programs and its work statewide with municipalities on all facets of water treatment. The Institute will thus leverage current academic strengths and allow us to build unique curriculum and experiential learning opportunities that are crucial to safety and security.”
President Webb has appointed David Cid, former executive director of the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) and retired FBI agent, to lead the Institute. Ed Killibrew, retired Oklahoma City Police Officer and key member of the MIPT team, was appointed to assist Cid in the development, implementation, and management of the new Institute.
“I am honored to be selected as the director of the Homeland Security Institute at Rose State College'” said David Cid.
“We will develop an intellectual center of gravity in homeland security for Oklahoma and the nation. The Institute will be a place that welcomes both practitioners and scholars to collaborate and search for solutions to homeland security challenges.”
While the Institute will serve students and interested citizens with a series of for-credit college-level classes, much of its operation will focus on first responders, police and fire departments, the media, legislative leaders, the military, corporate security departments, and members of the diplomatic corps. The emergency management component will assist mid-level and senior-level first responder leaders as they plan, develop, and sustain viable emergency management programs for the agencies and municipalities they serve. As a leader in water utility operator training, the college will also provide security and counter-terrorism training for private and municipal-owned utility systems.
The National Security Agency honored Rose State College several years ago as a “National Site of Excellence” in recognition of the college’s nationally prominent cybersecurity program. The CIA, FBI, NSA, and the Department of Defense, among others, currently employ Rose State cybersecurity graduates. The cyber security program was recently made available as a totally online degree option.
The Air Force Association also designated Rose State as a CyberPatriot Center of Excellence, one of only four such sites in the country.