During the National HBCU Week Conference convened by the U.S. Department of Education and the White House, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced its collaboration with 20 Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) to help them establish Cybersecurity Leadership Centers.
With 500,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the U.S., the need for expertise is critical: According to a recent IBM Security study, insufficiently staffed organizations average $550,000 more in breach costs than those that state they are sufficiently staffed.**
“Collaborations between academia and the private sector can help students prepare for success. That’s especially true for HBCUs because their mission is so vital,” said Justina Nixon-Saintil, Vice President, IBM Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG. “The Cybersecurity Leadership Centers we’re co-creating with Historically Black College and Universities epitomize our commitment to the Black community and STEM education; it also builds on our pledge to train 150,000 people in cybersecurity over three years.”
IBM will collaborate with the following 20 HBCUs across 11 states to co-create Cybersecurity Leadership Centers, helping to create talent for employers and opportunities for students. (Six of these collaborations were previously announced in May*)
- Alabama – Alabama A&M University, Talladega College, Tuskegee University
- Florida – Edward Waters University, Florida A&M University
- Georgia – Albany State University, Clark Atlanta University*
- Louisiana – Grambling State University, Southern University System*, Xavier University of LA*
- Maryland – Bowie State University, Morgan State University*
- Mississippi – Alcorn State University
- North Carolina – North Carolina A&T State University*, North Carolina Central University
- South Carolina – South Carolina State University*, Voorhees University
- Texas – Texas Southern University
- Virginia – Norfolk State University
- West Virginia – West Virginia State University
Original source can be found here.
