College receives $50,000 grant to fund new cybersecurity teaching lab in Hutto

Temple College has received a $50,000 grant from the W.D. Kelley Foundation of Georgetown to fund a new cybersecurity teaching lab at the East Williamson County Higher Education Center in Hutto.

Temple College plans to begin offering classes this fall that lead to a Certificate in Cybersecurity and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Cybersecurity. The grant from the W.D. Kelley Foundation will help fund the equipment needed to teach the more advanced cybersecurity courses.

“Our advanced courses will benefit a lot from this equipment,” said Josh Wilson, chair of the Computer Information Systems Department.

The grant also will help pay for certification exams for students. The program offered by Temple College will prepare students to take the CompTIA Security+ certification exam, which provides a springboard to jobs in the cybersecurity field.

Temple College also plans to use some of the grant to fund a one-day summer cybersecurity camp in Hutto for middle school students in 2022 and 2023. The camp will highlight career possibilities in cybersecurity and make students aware of what math and science classes they need to take in high school to be academically ready to enroll in a cybersecurity program.

Temple College plans to use an additional $67,500 it received through the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding to equip the cybersecurity lab in Hutto and provide loaner computers for students.

“We are very grateful to Dale and Carl Illig and the entire board of the W.D. Kelley Foundation for their continued support of Temple College,” said Temple College President Dr. Christy Ponce. “Cybersecurity is a critical field right now and we are excited to be able to make cybersecurity training available to residents of East Williamson County.”

In 2020, the W.D. Kelley Foundation gave Temple College a $150,000 grant that is being used to open a new science lab at the at the East Williamson County Higher Education Center in Hutto and provide scholarships for Georgetown-area students who want to attend Temple College.

For more information on the cybersecurity programs, visit www.templejc.edu/cis.