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UAB seeks reinstatement of cybersecurity center; trustees approve related administrative items
Summary
UAB asked trustees to reinstate its Center for Cybersecurity and the board approved multiple UAB administrative action items, including new endowed positions and center name changes.
Trustees approved a package of UAB administrative action items Feb. 7 that included the reinstatement of the UAB Center for Cybersecurity, the conversion of a family medicine professorship to an endowed chair, and several naming and endowment actions.
In her presentation, system senior vice chancellor Tunjanita Johnson described the reinstatement request: "Given the increasing importance of privacy in medical applications and the need to apply cybersecurity concepts to secure health care data devices and systems, UAB now seeks to reinstate the center to bring computer science, criminal justice, school of medicine, and other educators together with a primary focus on cybersecurity research and education." The materials named Dr. Raheeb Hassan, professor in the UAB department of computer science, as the proposed center director.
Why it matters: The reinstated center aims to consolidate interdisciplinary cybersecurity research and training at UAB, with an emphasis on health-care applications. Trustees also acted on several personnel and naming requests that affect faculty appointments and donor-funded endowments.
Discussion and context: Committee discussion highlighted the center’s prior history; Johnson noted the center was originally formed in 2011, renamed in 2018 and closed by board approval in April 2022 after it became inactive. UAB argued the center’s revival was warranted by growing demand to secure medical data and devices. The committee recorded no opposition and approved the items by voice vote.
What happens next: UAB will proceed with steps to formalize the center’s reinstatement and to implement other approved administrative actions, including appointing the named center director and processing the endowed positions.
