Norwich University’s College of Graduation and Continuing Studies (CGCS) held its annual Residency Conference Monday, June 17 to Friday, June 21, 2019. The conference concluded students’ degrees and Norwich experience with a number of academic sessions, lectures and presentations, and capstone projects, specifically tailored to their interests and to help them grow in their fields. Students also had the opportunity to meet faculty and cohort members, as well as participate in the 2019 Norwich University CGCS Commencement Ceremony.
Program Case Studies Put Skills into Practice
For many, program case studies are not only a staple of their Residency experience, but are also the culmination of their academics, in which students can apply knowledge learned in the classroom into a hands-on, real-world experience.
This year, students of the online Master of Business Administration (MBA) program had the opportunity to work with King Industries, a chemical manufacturer located in Norwalk, Connecticut. Business administration students identified and analyzed key challenges in the organization, including leadership styles, marketing, project and resource management, operations, and finance. Through focusing on the future environment, innovation in the organization, and organizational growth strategies, students provided management in King Industries with insights on how to better improve the environment of the organization.
Students in the online Master of Arts in International Relations and Master of Arts in Diplomacy programs also concluded their academics with case studies in their fields. Diplomacy and international relations case studies focused on the ethics of decision making within diplomatic leadership.
Students Test Knowledge in Cyber Events
Cyber events, a highlight of the 2019 Residency conference, gave students in the public administration, criminal justice, and information security and assurance programs the opportunity to test their knowledge through a series of different exercises. This year’s cyber events included the Third Annual Forensics Exercise, Third Annual Cyber Security Summit, and the Hack-a-thon.
Third Annual Forensics Exercise
Students applied what they learned in the classroom in a staged crime scene. The crime scene, which was written by Archer Mayor, a Vermont mystery author, combined principals of incident response, computer forensics, criminal justice, and public safety, and it spanned across the Norwich University Campus.
Local and state police units, such as the Northfield Police Department and the Vermont State Police, provided student support to assist guiding participants through the technology needed to solve the mock crime, as well as provided mentorship through the investigative practices and procedures.
Third Annual Cyber Security Summit
The Cyber Security Summit, which was sponsored by The Institute for Public Procurement (NIGP), explored the latest in cyber security policy with leading experts in the fields of cyber security, procurement, business, governance, and nonprofit management through a series of workshops and discussions. This year’s summit focused on critical infrastructure and Election 2020, and the summit included three tracks to choose from: cybersecurity, cyber procurement and municipal governance management.
Keynote Speakers included:
- Matthew Travis: First Deputy Director for the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
- Scott Breor: Deputy Assistant Secretary (Acting) for the Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP) within the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD).
- Dawn Cappelli: VP Global Security and CISO at Rockwell Automation.
Planning for the fourth annual summit is already underway. The 2020 summit is titled the Policy and Information Security Summit and will include topics in cybersecurity, procurement, policy, and public administration.
Hack-a-thon
Individuals in cybersecurity programs were able to conduct vulnerability assessments and penetration tests on the information technology of a Vermont state agency through the 2019 Hack-a-thon event. In addition to applying what was learned in the classroom, students gained practical experience in assessing threats to cybersecurity while the participating state agency learned more about vulnerabilities in its information technology systems and how to rectify those inefficiencies.
Commencement Caps Off Norwich Experience for Nearly 500 Graduates
Gathering from around the world, 497 students representing 13 online graduate programs and 6 bachelor’s degree completion programs walked the stage Friday, June 21 to receive their diplomas. The Class of 2019 graduates included active duty and veteran military personnel, healthcare professionals, law enforcement officers and special agents, entrepreneurs, and educators.
2019 Residency by the numbers:
- 497 students from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico and three international countries: Canada, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.
- 11% of students have more than one degree from Norwich University.
- 177 unique academic sessions, panels and discussions took place during the week.
Brigadier General (Retired) Duke DeLuca Delivers 2019 Commencement Address
Brigadier General (Retired) Peter A. (Duke) DeLuca, lifelong U.S. Army Servicemember and engineer and Eurasian Foreign Area Officer, delivered the 2019 CGCS commencement in Shapiro Field House.
After earning degrees in economics and mechanical engineering in 1983, DeLuca was commissioned as a Distinguished Military Graduate from the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program at the University of Pennsylvania. He also is a graduate of the Defense Language Institute, a 1993 graduate from the International Affairs master’s program at Columbia University, and a graduate from University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics.
“I believed if I wanted to understand human society at large I needed to study economics because it was a profound influence, even if they didn’t know it,” DeLuca said.
He retired from Army service in 2014, DeLuca worked professionally in 33 U.S. states and 29 countries, some of which were formally declared U.S. combat zones. Concluding his Army service, DeLuca was commanding general of the Mississippi Valley Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leading a multi-billion-dollar annual water resource program from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Since retiring from the Army, he has consulted internationally for large global companies, the DoD and small and medium-sized regional businesses. Currently, he serves on four non-profit boards of directors.
“The pace of change is accelerating beyond the imagination of everyone on the planet, compared to even the Industrial [Revolution],” advised DeLuca to the graduating class. Demonstrating skills in the field is important, but DeLuca emphasized the importance of learning quickly and having a great knowledge of what everyone’s role is on a team.
Congratulations to Norwich University’s College of Graduate and Continuing Studies Class of 2019!
