FayObserver.com FSU Plan will Forge Closer Ties to Bragg December 13, 2010 By Henry Cuningham Military editor Fayetteville State University announced Friday the establishment of a Center for Defense and Homeland Security that will include a new degree in intelligence and a closer working relationship with Fort Bragg. Chancellor James A. Anderson made the announcement at the annual meeting of the BRAC Regional Task Force at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church. "We don't have a building for it yet, so currently it's virtual," Anderson said after the meeting. "But our goal is to probably combine it with a conference center that we hope to build very shortly." The center will work with other historically black colleges and universities, other University of North Carolina campuses, the Army and intelligence community, corporations and government on all levels, Anderson said. "We are pretty much funding everything internally with the exception of the grants that we get," Anderson said. The center will house language and cultural learning programs and be involved in military outreach initiatives, including the military one-stop program at Fort Bragg. It will offer an intelligence studies bachelor's degree program, too. The university will work with the School of Business and Economics to support the veterans business center and the business entrepreneurship program for soldiers who were wounded in combat, Anderson said. A military advisory council will oversee the operations of the center, he said. Anderson said the center's priorities are to: Improve research opportunities and attract faculty with an interest in defense, homeland security, and government grants and contracts. Promote interest in those areas among high school, community college and university students. Provide money and reduce reliance on state funds. Contribute to the development of the region's work force. Increase sources of revenue for local government. Allow the military and industry to have access to FSU's research equipment, which includes the latest model of the high-powered electron microprobe. Yale University is the only other school in the U.S. with access to a comparable microprobe, the chancellor said. Also Friday, the BRAC Regional Task Force's board of directors voted to change its name to the Fort Bragg Regional Alliance, to extend its role beyond the Sept. 15 deadline for BRAC's implementation. The organization has brought together leaders from 11 counties surrounding Fort Bragg to identify opportunities and challenges related to base realignment. The 2005 Base Closure and Realignment law directs the move of the Forces Command and U.S. Army Reserve Command headquarters from Atlanta to Fort Bragg. The move will result in more people and potential for defense-related industries but also challenges in terms of traffic and school crowding. The name change would take effect pending a legal review. Military editor Henry Cuningham can be reached at cuninghamh@fayobserver.com or 486-3585. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org www.hbculibraries.org 404.592.4820 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org Honor the ancestors, honor the children.