Longwood awarded planning grant to establish laboratory school

May 2012

Longwood is one of four public institutions of higher education to earn a Virginia College/University Partnership Laboratory School Application Planning Grant. Longwood University, George Mason University, James Madison University and Virginia State University were selected for the grants as part of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s “Opportunity to Learn” agenda to improve K-12 education by providing more flexibility, innovation and autonomy outside the traditional public school system.

Longwood’s $86,000 grant helped establish a laboratory partnership school with Charlotte County Public Schools. In fall 2011, Longwood’s College of Education and Human Services initiated a proposal for a summer lab school, which may be developed into the year-round model that will be made possible through the grant. Public institutions of higher education that operate teacher education programs approved by the Virginia Board of Education were eligible to apply for the grants.

Dr. Wayne White, interim dean of Longwood’s College of Education and Human Services, said, “This planning grant will establish a team of faculty from Charlotte County schools and Longwood to work together toward developing a laboratory school for in-service and pre-service candidates to gain experience and work to improve instruction.”

McDonnell said the proposed college laboratory schools are examples for the Commonwealth of what is possible when institutions of higher learning and local school districts partner with people and organizations in the public, private and philanthropic sectors to initiate and develop innovative academic programs.

International conference on digital forensics directed by business professor

June 2012

Academics and industry experts from five continents attended the seventh annual conference of the Association of Digital Forensics, Security and Law (ADFSL), directed by Dr. Glenn Dardick of Longwood.

The conference, held May 30-31 in Richmond, was hosted by the ADFSL, sponsored in part by Longwood’s College of Business and Economics, and chaired by Dardick, associate professor of information technology and director of the Longwood Center for Cyber Security. Participants came from numerous countries, including Egypt, India, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Brazil, and from throughout the United States. In addition to institutions of higher education, they represented the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Taiwanese equivalent of the FBI and General Electric’s new Richmond-based Cyber Security Center.

“The conference allows many academics and practitioners from the local, national and international technical and legal communities to come together and hear about and discuss trends and leading-edge research from experts in cyberforensics, security and cyberlaw,” said Dardick.

The ADFSL, which Dardick founded in 2006, focuses on the role of digital forensics in law enforcement, network security and information assurance.

Board of Visitors approves environmental sciences degree program

June 2012

Longwood’s Board of Visitors approved a new degree program for a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences.

Pending approval by the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia, Longwood will begin recruiting students for the program, which is expected to enroll approximately 20 students each year. Classes could begin in fall 2013.

The proposed degree program is a response by Longwood to calls for new opportunities for students to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers. In its report “Preparing for the Top Jobs of the 21st Century,” Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation and Investment noted, “Virginia will need to prepare 100,000 additional workers with STEM degrees over the next decade.”

Longwood’s proposed program is unique in that it will provide an integrated interdisciplinary approach that will include practical, hands-on experiences throughout the entire curriculum. It also will provide strong foundational knowledge in natural and social science, and will heavily emphasize the skills and integrated critical thinking that are necessary for making decisions about complex environmental issues.

Representatives of several key state environmental agencies, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Clean Virginia Waterways have written letters of support for the program.

Potential employers for graduates who earn degrees in environmental sciences include numerous state, federal and local agencies; corporations that deal with environmental management; private sector consulting firms specializing in environmental engineering; waste management and recycling companies; and nonprofit organizations.