Scholarship Recipients

In the academic year 2019–20, IUP was awarded a significant grant from the Department of Defense (DoD)Cyber Scholarship Program to provide full-ride scholarships to the following six students:

  1. Rodney Cesar
  2. Joshua Griffith
  3. Kaishia Ieraci
  4. Brooklyn Kotula
  5. James Lutz
  6. Timothy Troy

For information about the IUP DoD Scholarship Program and all of its current and previous activities, please see the project main page.

To fill the need of capable cybersecurity professionals, the DoD sought rising junior and senior (third- and fourth-year) undergraduate and graduate/doctoral students who were interested in full-ride scholarships for concentrated studies in cybersecurity.

Students selected for the program received full scholarships. This required the student to agree to serve one year of service to the DoD, upon graduation for each year of scholarship received.

Informational Session

An informational session for all interested students was held in Stright Hall on January 29, 2019. During this session, students were given complete information on application instructions and scholarship requirements.

2019-20 Capacity Building Project

In conjunction with the DoD CySP, IUP has also received funds for an additional capacity-building project designed to find more ways to recruit students to enter the cybersecurity workforce. This goal will be achieved through a unique blend of faculty development, hands-on workshops, and the continued cultivation of relationships with local community colleges. Please visit the DoD CySP Capacity Building Project page for more information.

Project Meetings and Documents

Waleed Farag, the project director, along with the Co-PIs and all student scholarship recipients are holding regular face-to-face meetings throughout the academic year 2019-20. In these meetings, we discuss progress, address and resolve any concerns or challenges that any of the awardees may face, and ensure success in completing their degrees and compliance with the terms and conditions for the DoD scholarship award.

Listed below are meeting documents for the 2019-20 DoD Cyber Scholarship Program.

Meeting Agendas and Minutes

  • Due to the pandemic, some meetings and follow-ups were held virtually and/or via emails.
  • November 12, 2019: Agenda | Minutes
  • October 10, 2019: Agenda | Minutes
  • August 27, 2019: Agenda |  Minutes

Please contact the program director, Waleed Farag, at farag@iup.edu with any questions.