GW’s Virginia Science and Technology Campus will soon house a cybersecurity academy as well as an expanded number of health sciences programs, thanks to the work of the university’s Innovation Task Force.
The Virginia Campus is the focus of three of the six new initiatives green-lighted for implementation this winter by the ITF—now in its seventh phase and heading into its fifth year of operation. Implementation planning for the new programs will begin in the coming months.
“We are very excited about the phase seven initiatives, which focus primarily on innovating science and technology,” said Dave Lawlor, senior associate vice president for finance and chairman of the Innovation Task Force. “From the outset, we had envisioned coordinating this phase with the ongoing strategic planning efforts at the Virginia Science and Technology Campus. I look forward to seeing how these important initiatives develop and mature in the months ahead.”
The creation of a cybersecurity academy at GW, Mr. Lawlor said, will capitalize on high job growth opportunities in the burgeoning field while tapping the university’s wealth of expertise in the cybersecurity arena. ITF plans also call for expanding the slate of health sciences offerings on the VSTC to fuel the rising demand for health sciences professionals.
An increased focus on high-performance computing support rounds out the list of VSTC-specific initiatives approved by the president. Plans call for reallocating the university’s administrative technology budget, particularly in IT consulting, to high-value IT research support.
Other new ITF initiatives green-lighted for implementation in phase seven are:
- School of Media and Public Affairs Executive Education: The creation of an executive education program within the School of Media and Public Affairs that will deliver courses both on-site and online.
- Software License Fee Centralized Management: Produce cost savings through an enterprise software licensing management practice.
- University Events Coordination: Events at GW--which often involve staff from across the university—will be better coordinated centrally, with enhanced university-wide strategic planning, event standardization tiers and improved vendor management
The latest round of initiatives stems from the “exceptional work” of the Phase Seven ITF Exploration Team, chaired by Ali Eskandarian, dean of the College of Professional Studies and of VSTC, Mr. Lawlor said.
Dr. Eskandarian and his team met regularly over the past year to brainstorm and develop ideas that “build upon the culture of innovation” at GW, he said.
“As we enter the ITF’s fifth year, the Exploration Team continues to bring outstanding opportunities to the ITF leadership,” Mr. Lawlor added. “We are making solid strides forward. To date, we have hired 63 new faculty and researchers thanks to ITF funds and we are seeing tens of millions of ITF dollars reinvested in our core academic mission.
We have some amazing talent across the university, and I continue to be very grateful to those who have made ITF a great success.”