In May, 2023 HNN talked with David Dampier, Engineering Dean and interim dean of the computer science Cyber Security Center on the Marshall campus. Professor Dampier said that Marshall’s Cyber Security school is one of just a handful of the U.S. Cyber Command’s authorized hacking and server security schools. While this Federal partnership provides welcome funding it will also require Marshall Cyber Security to meet certain standards.
Dampier said the Cyber Security school is currently housed within the Marshall Engineering School at the Arthur Weisberg Family Applied Engineering Complex north of 3rd Avenue. Recent drawings (published by HNN) show a planned Cyber Security Center taking up nearly a half block between Hal Greer and 15th Street, along the north side of 4th Avenue to the alley. Currently the site of apartments, a “public nuisance” former nightclub, a barbershop, thrift store and former pizza shop, the Cyber Security Center will help anchor the new 4th Avenue Innovation Corridor, along with the planned Advanced Manufacturing Hub and Brad D. Smith Business School, currently under construction.
While Dean Dampier presently holds the reins at both the Engineering and Cyber Security schools, he told HNN that he was only an interim dean for the Cyber branch and that he was actively recruiting a new chief. Because of the federal partnership, Dampier is in consultation with the Army CyberCommand headquarters associated with the National Security Agency near Columbia, Maryland.
“Ft. Meade strongly prefers a retired general who is active in the field of cybersecurity, but I’m having a hard time recruiting a highly qualified retired army general. I have colonels and majors interested, but it’s hard to get a full retired army general to move to Huntington. They are generally willing to take the position, but want to work remotely from the Washington area.” Dampier said.
“That’s no good,” I responded, “I think Marshall needs the instructional dean to be on site and actively supervising the professors and students. Maybe a retired general who already lives in Martinsburg or Shepherdstown would be more likely to move to Huntington than one who has never lived in West Virginia.”
Dampier agreed, and we discussed the National Security Agency cryptology museum foundation, the NCF public outreach and research group, as a possible source of recruits for his Marshall Cyber Security Dean search.
Our brief but informative conversation was cut short by the start of Brad D. Smith’s address to the education committee and leadership of the West Virginia Legislature:
(David Shanet Clark spoke at the cryptology conference at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD, and his paper on Civil War telegraph encryption was published in the journal “Cryptology.” Clark is a member of the National Cryptologic Foundation, which raises money for the technology museum near Ft. Meade’s NSA & CyberCommand headquarters.)