Champlain College Wins 2015 SC Magazine Award For Best Cybersecurity Higher Education Program

Cybersecurity Program Wins Award for the Second Time

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BURLINGTON, VT (04/23/2015)(readMedia)-- Champlain College has been recognized for the second time as winner of the Professional Award for Best Cybersecurity Higher Education Program at the 2015 SC Awards. The award was presented Tuesday during the 2015 SC Awards Gala held in San Francisco.

"We are honored that SC Magazine has again recognized our distinctive technology degree programs and the people who helped build this program," said Champlain College President Donald J. Laackman. "The Leahy Center for Digital Investigation and our other Centers of Excellence provide Champlain students the opportunity to work on real-world projects in supervised environments. The students working in the LCDI increase the digital forensic capacity of Vermont law enforcement."

Champlain College also received this award in 2013, Laackman noted. Since then the College's programs and facilities have continued to expand. "It validates that we are on track as we prepare our graduates for the important work of keeping information secure and people safe in their workplaces and homes," he said.

The 2015 SC Professional Award winners were chosen by a panel of judges comprised of recognized security professionals and leaders from a variety of backgrounds and vertical markets. The individuals, programs and teams chosen as winners in the Professional Award categories go through a rigorous judging process that includes testimonials, industry assessment and additional research.

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) who helped secure the funding for the Leahy Center for Digital Investigation (LCDI) said Wednesday, "I am extremely proud that Vermont's own Champlain College achieved SC Magazine's distinction of 'Best Cyber Security Higher Education Program' in the country for a second time. Champlain prepares both traditional on-campus students and online adult learners for fulfilling careers that contribute to the security and prosperity of the nation. This award recognizes Champlain for both their hallmark innovation and their pursuit of quality education."

"The Professional Award category identifies the people and groups who are working to educate the industry on the best practices and strategies for protecting data," said Illena Armstrong, vice president, editorial, SC Magazine. "We recognize Champlain College's cyber security and digital forensics program for its hard work and continued dedication to protecting today's enterprise from the evolving threat landscape."

"Education and ongoing training are key components to any effective security program," she added, "With the nature of today's evolving threats, it's more important than ever to combine an educated workforce of security experts with process and technology. Champlain is setting the standard of excellence in the higher education realm."

Through its on-campus, online and graduate degree programs, Champlain offers more than 35 computer forensics and digital investigation courses - more than any other college in the country, according to Jonathan T. Rajewski, director of the U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy Center for Digital Investigation (LCDI) and an associate professor in Champlain's Division of Information Technology & Sciences. "Students can jump into digital forensic courses immediately, taking advantage of leading-edge topics including mobile device forensics, network forensics, malware analysis and many more," he noted.

Rajewski emphasized that the LCDI is a instrumental to providing students a hands-on experience in a fully equipped, secure digital forensics / cyber security laboratory. "We challenge students to research the same issues and topics the greater cyber security industry is dealing with" said Rajewski. "Clients of the LCDI can leverage our amazing staff/resources and employers come to directly recruit our students. It's a competitive landscape for students to get jobs, but Champlain College has an amazing track record - for example, for the past few years, our traditional undergraduate cyber security / digital forensics graduates have had had over 90% relevant job placement."

Cyber security courses are developed and taught by experts who bring current industry best practices and techniques to the classroom. The LCDI enables students to get hands-on experience with active investigations, gaining valuable real-world experience, including developing and writing response plans. "We stride to provide students an amazing learning experience. This recognition is very humbling and I hope it results in additional internship/ employment opportunities for our students. Our graduates have a great track record for securing employment and I look forward to hearing how this award creates additional opportunities," Rajewski said.

The SC Awards, now in its 18th year, is lauded as one of the most prestigious awards for information technology (IT) security professionals and products. The awards recognize the best solutions, services and professionals that work around the clock to defend against the constantly shifting threat landscape in today's marketplace. For more information and a detailed list of categories and winners, please visit www.scmagazineus.com/awards.

About SC Magazine

SC Magazine provides IT security professionals with in-depth and unbiased information through timely news, comprehensive analysis, cutting-edge features, contributions from thought leaders and the best, most extensive collection of product reviews in the business. By offering a consolidated view of IT security through independent product tests and well-researched editorial content that provides the contextual backdrop for how these IT security tools will address larger demands put on businesses today, SC Magazine enables IT security pros to make the right security decisions for their companies. Besides the monthly print magazine and vibrant daily website, the brand's portfolio includes the SC Congress and Expo series (Chicago, London, New York, Toronto), SC Awards (U.S. and U.K.), SC Marketscope, SC Magazine Newswire and SC Magazine IT Security Executive Forums.

About Champlain College

Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Quebec and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain and over 60 online undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates. Champlain's distinctive career-driven approach to higher education embodies the notion that true learning occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain College is included in the Princeton Review's The Best 379 Colleges: 2015 Edition. Champlain was named a "Top-Up-and-Coming School" by U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges and is ranked in the top tier of 2014 Regional Colleges in the North. For more information, visit www.champlain.edu.