4 join to teach security courses

LINCOLN — Four Midlands universities are partnering to guide more students into national security-related careers.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced Monday that it has received a $3 million federal grant to establish the Great Plains National Security Education Consortium.

The consortium will be composed of UNL, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Creighton University and Bellevue University. All four schools will offer specialized courses as part of the program, as well as a specialty certificate in national security and intelligence. Some of the new courses will begin as early as January.

The grant money comes through the Intelligence Community Centers of Academic Excellence, a federal program established in 2005 to recruit a more diverse work force to carry out U.S. national security objectives. Agencies involved include the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the FBI, the State Department and the Treasury Department, among others.

The Nebraska effort will join 20 other centers — six new ones and 14 already existing — established at other universities across the country. Out of 41 applications, the Nebraska proposal was one of seven selected to receive grants, said Lenora Peters Gant, director of the Office of the Centers for Academic Excellence in the Office of the Director of National Security.

UNL officials said the program will offer new opportunities to Nebraska students that will help them compete globally. New courses will be offered in Chinese and Arabic, as well as nuclear detection research.

“(It) will help establish internship and career opportunities with a wide range of federal agencies,” said UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9581, leslie.reed@owh.com

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