Center for Cybersecurity Outreach

Olivet’s Center for Cybersecurity Outreach exists to help our local community and educate others on cybersecurity. CCSO students work with professional guidance to bring cybersecurity tips and service to others.

Our Goals, Projects, and Vision

The Center for Cybersecurity Outreach at Olivet Nazarene University is dedicated to a meaningful aspiration. We offer community outreach events, such as presentations to teach the community about Cybersecurity and how it affects their everyday lives.

Our goals and projects include:

Equipping underserved schools in the Philippines with the necessary tools for modern education by securing computer donations and establishing ongoing tech support networks to empower these schools.
Encouraging potential career interest in Cybersecurity for students. Exposure to the concepts and ideas of Cybersecurity can encourage additional interest both academically and recreationally and lead to more in-demand Cybersecurity jobs in the future.
Raising the overall internet awareness of the everyday user by helping them understand some of the potential attacks that can occur to their systems and how to best identify and respond accordingly to each of them.

Our vision is to create a world where every student has access to the technology they need to thrive academically. Join us as we work toward the goal of bridging the digital divide and nurturing a brighter future for the next generation.

Study Cybersecurity at Olivet Nazarene University

Are you interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity? Explore Olivet’s Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Cybersecurity!

Cybersecurity Major/Minor

Resources

The Center for Cybersecurity Outreach continually provides valuable resources. Check back here for:

Links to student cybersecurity activities available to both Olivet students and the community
Internal cybersecurity news, such as cybersecurity activities and opportunities at Olivet and highlights of Olivet faculty and student cybersecurity activities.
External cybersecurity news, highlighting up-to-date trending cybersecurity information.
Olivet security resources and awareness information.
Links to cyber competitions and other resources.

Hack The Box

Where hackers level up! An online cybersecurity training platform allowing IT professionals to advance their ethical hacking skills and be part of a worldwide community. Join today and learn how to hack!

The National Cyber League

The NCL, powered by Cyber Skyline, enables students to prepare and test themselves against practical cybersecurity challenges that they will likely face in the workforce, such as identifying hackers from forensic data, pentesting and auditing vulnerable websites, recovering from ransomware attacks, and much more!

Olivet Information Technology

Olivet Nazarene University’s on-campus IT services are here to support students, faculty, and staff with their technology needs. The IT department at Olivet Nazarene University provides a range of services, including network support, hardware and software assistance, and tech resources across campus.

Women in Cybersecurity

The mission of the WiCyS Student Chapter is to build a community at Olivet Nazarene University that promotes women’s education, participation, and leadership in the field of cybersecurity.

CISA Blog

CISA News

Faculty

Dr. Jeffrey Rice

Program Director

CCSO Point of Contact

D.C.Sc., CISSP, CEH, CPT, CEPT

Dr. Justin Brown

Chair of Mathematics & Computer Science

Ph.D, M.S., B.A.

Daniel Kender

Assistant Professor

AWS Cloud Practioner

AWS Cloud Architect

M.Sc

Bert Ackerman

Adjunct Professor

Director of Information Systems

Olivet Nazarene University

M.Sc

Dana Fellows

Adjunct Professsor

Instructional Designer

CompTIA

M.A., M.Sc

Dr. Wes Gerbig

Adjunct Professor

Subject Matter Expert

Digital Health Technologies

M.Eng, Ph.D, AWS Cloud Practioner

Adam Ignar

Adjunct Professor

Enterprise Data Architect

Captive Resources. LLC

M.Sc

Scott Smith

Adjunct Professor

Systems Integration Specialist

Olivet Nazarene University

M.Sc, CISSP, CEH, CPT, CEPT

Dr. Houston Thompson

Adjunct Professor

Dir. Foundation Ops, & Grant Admin.

Olivet Nazarene University

Ed.D., MSW, MCM, LSW, CFRM

Aaron Rice

Adjunct Professor

Senior Security Analyst

US Dept. of Veterans Affairs

M.Eng, MBA, CISSP, CEH, CNDA

Rebekah Whiteley

Adjunct Professor

Sr. NERC CIP Compliance Analyst

Duke Energy

M.Eng, MBA

Ryan Manes

Program Assistant

Esports Director

Olivet Nazarene University

BA, MA

Student Leaders

Cadin Mollema

CSOC President

Nathan Poff

CSOC Vice President

Addison Adams

Women in Cyber Student Director

Nathan Combs

Computer Science and Emerging Technologies Club President

Conor Glynn

Computer Science and Emerging Technologies Club Treasurer

Advisory Council

Colette Mann

Executive VP of IT at First American Bank

Colette (Payne) Mann is currently the Executive Vice President of Information Technology at First American Bank. As a Bachelor of Science graduate in Electrical and Electronics Engineering of the University of Notre Dame and Master of Science in Telecommunications from DePaul University, it is clear she is passionate about her field and technology alike.

Jason Miller

CEO of BitLyft

Jason Miller’s 20-year career in IT has focused on network and cloud technologies with a focus on secure architecture and proactive defense strategies. A repeat entrepreneur, Jason was co-founder of SaaS delivery pioneer Reviora, acquired by Concerto Cloud Services in 2014.

Dennis Seymour

Chief Information Officer at Olivet Nazarene University

Dennis Seymour is the Chief Information Officer at Olivet Nazarene University. Dennis has been a long standing member of the Nazarene community and has served Olivet Nazarene University for over 30 years. Dennis has been extremely influential in providing internship and job opportunities to Computer Science and Emerging Technology students. He is a strong supporter of the department.

Kurt Heckman

President of vCalc

From August of 2018 to January of 2021, Mr. Heckman served as an appointee in the U.S. Department of Energy. He first served in the Office of Science focusing on nuclear fusion. In September of 2019, Mr. Heckman became the Director of Secretarial Boards and Councils where he oversaw DOE’s 21 advisory boards as part of the Office of the Secretary.

Joel Rasmus

Managing Director for Education and Research

Joel Rasmus is the managing director for Purdue University’s Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS); the largest and top-ranking interdisciplinary academic institute for cyber and cyber-physical systems in North America.