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INVESTIGATOR: Hermond, D.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY
P.O. Box 519, MS 2001
PRAIRIE VIEW, TEXAS 77446

CYBER SECURITY INTEGRATION FOR COOPERATIVE EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The goal of this professional development project is to integrate cybersecurity education and awareness into education offerings to enhance the technological competence of farm producers and families that Prairie View A&M University's Cooperative Extension (CEP) agents serve. This investment into personnel will enhance their expertise in cyber security, thus improving this competency across the campus and community. These experts will spearhead the integration of effective pedagogy into technology courses across the campus, given the imperative to infuse these courses with current cyber-related knowledge. To accomplish these, the PI and a College of Agriculture faculty member will spend extensive time obtaining training in developing coursework and instruction for cybersecurity education. Subsequently, they will develop and integrate cybersecurity protocols into two existing agriculture technology courses. Next, they will develop an online cybersecurity module in order to increase access by CEP stakeholders to this important information. These nascent knowledge and application will form the content of a professional development workshop to be available to all faculty at the University. This capacity-building innovation will help in safeguarding the agriculture technology infrastructure and in expanding opportunities for rural communities for the 21st century. It will improve the health, financial status and general quality of life of farm producers, families, aspiring entrepreneurs and youth in the 35 Texas communities that the CEP serves. This is consistent with NIFA's goal of "catalyz[ing] exemplary and relevant research, education, and extension programs."

OBJECTIVES: The major goal of this project is to integrate cybersecurity education and awareness in courses to enhance the technological competence of farm producers and families that Prairie View A&M University's Cooperative Extension agents serve. By enhancing their competence, they will be able to safeguard the agriculture technology infrastructure and expand opportunities for rural communities.