May 10, 2022
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Columbus State College has appointed Patrick Aiken as the new Director of the
TSYS Center for Cybersecurity.
Before becoming promoted to the director purpose, Aiken served as a lecturer in the TSYS
University of Personal computer Science within the Turner School of Enterprise. He was also liable
for creating and enlargement of the Cybersecurity Nexus application at CSU. This 60-hour
degree software was built to make perform-completely ready professionals by means of a boot camp-design and style
approach. Other subjects Aiken taught involve business enterprise, information technology, and
cybersecurity.
He balances his life time of working experience and techniques to support condition the foreseeable future by passing
his information to the upcoming generation of leaders and technological know-how gurus. Prior
to instructing, Aiken labored as an Information and facts Technologies Director at TSYS for virtually
20 years and served as the Associate Director of Info Technologies at Aflac for
almost 10 years, driving major transformational initiatives and running crucial
software program engineering, supply and governance functions. He has also managed teams
of IT experts all over the earth and has shipped, safeguarded, and supported extremely
profitable and higher-high quality software program programs for shoppers in many international locations.
“We are particularly fortunate to have Patrick Aiken just take on the job of Director of
the TSYS Middle for Cybersecurity,” states Dean of the D. Abbott Turner Higher education of
Organization, Dr. Deborah L. Kidder. “He provides with him a wealth of understanding as nicely
as a robust network in the Cyber and IT corporate group listed here in Columbus. He has
already been instrumental in receiving our Nexus application introduced, and I appear forward
to working with him as we continue on to create our cybersecurity initiatives in Turner
Higher education.”
Aiken examined laptop information and facts programs during his undergraduate time at Columbus
Point out College, where he graduated with a bachelor’s of company administration
in June 1988. Following getting his BBA, Aiken stayed at CSU to do the job as a Process Designer
starting in 1988. Whilst functioning at Aflac, Aiken attained his master’s of enterprise
administration in administration data methods from Columbus Point out in 1994. As the
passionate engineering leader was progressing to become a lecturer at the college,
Aiken started doing the job on his master’s of science in cybersecurity administration in June
2020, correct just before turning out to be a lecturer in August of the exact same yr.
Aiken has served CSU in various roles, such as serving as a graduate pupil supervisor/mentor
in a Cybersecurity Policy and Management Undertaking. He is the advisor and mentor for
the Black Box Modern society and Pupil Cybersecurity Club and the chair of the College’s
Colloquium Collection. Aiken is also a member of the School’s Undergraduate Curriculum
Committee and the School’s Program Evaluate Committee.
“It’s super exciting to be in a place that lets me to get ready and join learners
from my alma mater with colleagues in providers in the market in which I invested many
amazing a long time executing complicated and satisfying get the job done,” reported Aiken. “I’ve desired to
be a aspect of planning this upcoming era of know-how workers and leaders to make
the entire world a far better put! The upcoming is theirs, but it is good to have some variety of
impact on encouraging them form that foreseeable future.”