Maryville University announced the establishment and creation of a new Fusion Center located inside the Cortex Innovation Community that will be used to educate the St. Louis startup community on cybersecurity topics and create a pipeline of talent.
The Fusion Center is Maryville’s first academic space in Cortex and will be used by the University’s cybersecurity and management information systems faculty and students. In addition to meeting space, Maryville will use the Fusion Center for a series of cybersecurity talks to provide networking and mentoring opportunities for industry leaders.
“We want to be known for bringing the Cortex community together in new and innovative ways,” said Stacy Hollins, PhD, assistant dean for the Simon School of Business and associate professor of Information Systems. “These startups are bringing innovation and economic growth to the St. Louis region. We are looking forward to becoming a part of the exciting, new technologies coming out of Cortex and integrating our students into this collaborative community.”
The university’s new Cortex space is part of the “Protect and Connect” program with funding support provided through a three-year, $435,000 grant from the PNC Foundation. At the heart of the program is Maryville’s state-of-the-art Cyber Fusion Center (CFC) located on the Maryville campus. Students working in the CFC have provided cybersecurity services at no charge to more than 150 organizations. These free services are available to all Cortex companies, and will include expanded services as Cortex partnerships continue to grow.
“Our support of Maryville University is a strategic investment to assist in enhancing cybersecurity education and talent, along with addressing the changing needs of an increasingly knowledge-based economy and equipping students with skills they can use for years to come,” said Michael Scully, PNC regional president for St. Louis.
Cortex is a vibrant, 200-acre innovation hub and technology district integrated into St. Louis’ historical Central West End and Forest Park Southeast residential neighborhoods. More than just buildings, Cortex is home to 415 companies and 5,800 employees. It also has resources for budding entrepreneurs such as Venture Café, which hosts the largest weekly gathering of entrepreneurs in the St. Louis area. Tyler Mathews ’09, ’12, serves as the executive director of Venture Café.
Additionally, Maryville plans to utilize the new Fusion Center to create an annual report identifying cybersecurity and technology needs and concerns in the St. Louis startup community. The report will be shared at an event where local leaders and entrepreneurs speak to the results. Maryville cybersecurity and information systems students will play a critical role in the research and development of the report.
About PNC Foundation
The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through Grow Up Great, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a bilingual $500 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life.
About Maryville University
Founded in 1872, Maryville University is a comprehensive and nationally ranked private institution with an enrollment of 10,200 students. Maryville offers more than 90 programs at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels to students from 50 states and 58 countries. Among recent graduates, 97 percent are employed or attending graduate school.