Director of Cybersecurity Programs

The College of Science and Engineering and the Computer Science Department support Westerns mission which states that together with our students staff and faculty we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women people of color people with disabilities veterans and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.

The Computer Science Department has 17 tenured or tenuretrack faculty 15 nontenure track instructors and serves approximately 400 majors or premajors. The department offers an ABETaccredited B.S. in computer science an M.S. degree and B.S. degrees in Data Science and Cybersecurity as well as a CS Education B.A. degree. The department has a strong history of research collaboration with other disciplines across campus such as Anthropology Linguistics Biology Chemistry Environmental Sciences Physics among others as well as collaborations with regional tech partners such as the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL). Collaborations with the Washington Autonomous Vehicle Cluster (WAVC) and with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) provide additional opportunities for faculty whose specialty is robotics. Facultymentored research projects are a hallmark of CS at WWU which the department and college support in numerous ways including by funding student and faculty travel to academic conferences to present their coauthored publications.

ADEI efforts: The Computer Science Department is committed to cultivating equitable and diverse learning and work environments to fulfill Westerns strategic goals of Advancing Inclusive Success Increasing Washington Impact and Enhancing Academic Excellence. The departments ongoing efforts include faculty involvement in workshops on inclusive pedagogy and educational research on student success among others.

Work Life Balance: The department supports a genuine balance between teaching and scholarship and between life and work. Standards for tenure and promotion are designed with this commitment in mind. Faculty have reasonable yearly teaching loads which enables them to pursue their scholarship interests via mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students. Above all high quality engaged instruction is highly valued.

Department Growth: As part of the universitys commitment to cultivate expansion in critical disciplines Kaiser Borsari Hall was recently built to increase capacity in Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering. The 20000 square foot facility houses stateoftheart teaching classrooms new faculty offices a showcase robotics lab as well as student project spaces.

Student culture: The department has a long history and culture of student engagement in facultymentored research that is supported by the College. The extent and success of student research is evidenced by several alumni each year proceeding to PhD programs at top institutions. Our undergraduate and graduate students land careers at a wide range of destinations from top tech companies to startups to national labs.

Visit our department web page at for more information.

This position is designated as a tenuretrack Academic Program Director at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor with responsibilities as described below. In addition to the standard ninemonth appointment and salary the Directorship will include an additional month of compensation in order to complete the work responsibilities of the position. The initial period of appointment to the role of Director will be four years with opportunity for reappointment.

The position has an anticipated start date between July 1 and September 16 2025.

Academic Program Management:

• Coordinate the of existing curriculum in Cybersecurity and take a leadership role in the evaluation and modification of curriculum as well as the design of new programs as needed.
• Ensure curriculum is mapped and aligned with requirements from the CAE program NICE ABET and ACM.
• Manage and monitor the assessment program for cybersecurity in support of CAE ABET and university accreditation needs.
• Identify and coordinate the scheduling and staffing of courses for cybersecurity in Poulsbo and Kirkland in coordination with CS department leadership.

Student Advising and Support:

• Review and approve degree and certificate applications.
• Review and approve exceptions modifications and substitutions for students in the programs.
• Meet with and advise students.
• Support active and engaged cybersecurity clubs and competition teams.
• Identify and promote internship and other student opportunities.

Pipeline Development:

• Coordinate and maintain articulation agreements with partner colleges.
• Participate in recruitment efforts with partner colleges high schools and other opportunities with the goal of increasing enrollment at all locations.
• Prepare and submit proposals and manage grants and other opportunities for scholarships such as Scholarship for Service (NSF) Cyber Service Academy (Cyber Command) etc.

External Relations:

• Encourage and support the development and delivery of cybersecurity curriculum efforts in programs throughout the university.
• Coordinate convene and meet with an external advisory board for Cybersecurity on a semiannual basis. Maintain relationships with members of the board between meetings.
• Coordinate with external employers and partners to create and manage yearlong senior projects.
• Participate in community outreach activities to include opportunities for K12 the general public and employers.
• Create and lead events and resources for WWU and surrounding community to promote and inform about cybersecurity.
• Maintain relationships directly and through the Foundation with key government and private sector partners including the NSA DHS Cyber Command Naval Undersea Warfare Center Naval Base Kitsap Cloud Security Alliance Microsoft Amazon Web Services etc.
• Supervise the CAE/CISS websites and other communication platforms.
• Identify prepare submit and manage grants for research and capacity building with various government and industry sources.
• Develop and coordinate research consortiums with other Universities and Colleges both inside and external to the CAE program.

Teaching:

• Teaching three courses per academic year with primary teaching responsibilities onsite at the Bellingham campus.
• Advise senior projects.

Cyber Range:

• Set the vision and direction for Cyber Range Poulsbo.
• Mange the staff and budget.
• Maintain relevant government academic and industry partnerships.

• Ph.D. (by time of application) in Cybersecurity or related field.
• Experience knowledge and research in Cybersecurity
• Experience in teaching at the University Level
• Experience or interest in outreach and professional speaking.
• Experience or interest in writing and managing grants.
• Experience or interest in developing a vision for the evolution of cybersecurity curriculum in response to changes in the discipline.
• For appointment at the Associate Professor level (tenuretrack) a research record and demonstrated evidence of successful teaching commensurate with standards for promotion to those ranks in the department.

• Experiences with developing and maintaining an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAECD).
• Experience in managing and maintaining an ABET accredited degree.
• National or International reputation in cybersecurity education with participation in academic service at a national level.
• Industry Experience in Cybersecurity

Must be able to travel and spend time at multiple locations including Poulsbo and Kirkland in addition to Bellingham.

Bargaining Unit

United Faculty of Western Washington

Application Instructions

Interested candidates must apply online. For application information and instructions go to the WWU Employment website.

A complete application should include:

• Application Letter (max 3 pages):a letter of application that addresses how you meet the required and preferred qualifications for the position and your ability and commitment to fulfill the responsibilities of the position.
• Diversity Statement (max 2 pages): a separate statement of demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion in teaching scholarship and/or service describing past experiences contributions to diversity and inclusion efforts the impact on students faculty staff and/or your field and a description of how you will demonstrate a commitment in these areas in teaching research and/or service at WWU.
• Teaching Statement (max 2 pages): a separate statement of your teaching experience and/or interests and plans for teaching introductory and advanced courses up through and including graduate M.S. courses. Please include a summary of teaching evaluations if applicable.
• Research Statement (max 4 pages not including references): in a separate statement please detail your research interests current and future projects and plans for recruiting and involving both undergraduate and graduate students.
• Vita: A full curriculum vitae.
• References:the names and contact information for at least three professional references. Please do not send letters of recommendation; these will only be required for semifinalists and will be requested from the provided references via Westerns PageUp electronic application system.
• Undergraduate & Graduate Transcripts:unofficial copies of transcripts are acceptable for initial application review.