2017

Annual Report

National Intelligence University
National Intelligence University is a Federal university 

that offers education and degrees to the intelligence and national security 

communities in a classified environment. NIU offers two graduate degrees 

with over 15 different concentrations and programs of study, an undergraduate 

degree completion program, and continuing education to more than 700 

students in Federal agencies and all branches of the U.S. military.


v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NIU Milestones 1

NIU Names New President 1

From Commandants to Presidents: The Evolution of the Selection

Process 1962-2017 2

After 33 Years at DIA Headquarters, NIU Now Calls 

Roberdeau Hall at ICC-B Home 3

2016-17 In Review 4

Progressing Initiatives 4

Programs and Events 9

Faculty and Staff Achievement 16

The 2017 Commencement 27

Quick Facts (2017) 30

The Measure Of Our Success 38
vi

1963-1964 Commandant CAPT Bruce E.Wiggin, U.S. Navy

1964-1965 Commandant COL Lee Wallace, U.S. Army

1966-1969 Commandant CAPT Clifton E. Cantlon, U.S. Navy

1969-1971 Commandant CAPT Robert Fuller, U.S. Navy

1971-1975 Commandant CAPT Wendell Furnas, U.S. Navy

1975-1979 Commandant CAPT Richard Bates, U.S. Navy

1979-1980 Commandant Col Charles Fox, U.S. Air Force

1980-1981 Commandant COL Bruce F. Williams, U.S. Army

 1981 Commandant (Acting) CAPT Cyril Dearie, U.S. Navy

1981-1984 Commandant Col Lee Badgett, U.S. Air Force

 1984 Commandant Col Allen Wolf, U.S. Air Force

1984-1987 Commandant Col John Macartney, U.S. Air Force

1987-1990 Commandant ADM Howard Roop, U.S. Navy Reserve (Ret.), EdD

1990-1991 Acting Commandant and Provost Dr. Robert DeGross

1991-1994 Commandant Lt Gen Charles J. Cunningham, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)

1994-2009 President A. Denis Clift

2009-2017 President RADM David R. Ellison, U.S. Navy (Ret.), PhD

President

J. Scott Cameron, PhD

2017-
1

NIU MILESTONES

DR. J. SCOTT CAMERON was named the 17th president 

of National Intelligence University (NIU) on August 25, 2017, succeeding 

Dr. David Ellison. Dr. Cameron brings extensive national security, 

intelligence and higher education experience to his new role. He previously 

served as the Director of the Office of Weapons of Mass Destruction/

Counterterrorism at the National Counterterrorism Center, having entered 

Federal government service after serving in higher education in faculty and 

academic leadership roles at Washington State University from 1986-2000. 

“Dr. Cameron is uniquely qualified to lead NIU as the university achieves 

its vision to become the center of academic life for the intelligence 

community,” said former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director 

Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart, the selecting official, in announcing 

the appointment. “Dr. Cameron was selected through an extensive national 

search,” Stewart continued, “and I am confident that he will bring further 

success to NIU as it continues its growth and development into a national 

university dedicated to the intelligence profession and to excellence in 

defense of the nation.” 

NIU NAMES NEW PRESIDENT
2

FROM COMMANDANTS TO 

PRESIDENTS: THE EVOLUTION OF 

THE SELECTION PROCESS 1962-2017 

In its early years, from 1962 to 1988, the University was led by military 

commandants. The commandants were mostly active duty Navy 

Captains or Air Force Colonels who were nominated by their services 

and appointed by the DIA Director. In 1988, at the encouragement of the 

Board of Visitors, the DIA Director hired the first of two successive senior 

executive civilian commandants, both of whom were retired flag officers. 

In 1994 with the appointment of A. Denis Clift, the title of NIU’s leader 

was formally changed from Commandant to President. 

In 2009 NIU adopted a presidential selection process with the Director 

of DIA as the selecting official. With the recently completed presidential 

search and selection, NIU further adapted the process in size, scope, 

inclusion, and transparency. 

The presidential search was longer and cast a much wider net than any 

previous search. The traditional government vacancy announcement 

process was substantially augmented by an NIU-led communications 

strategy that made extensive use of on-line messaging to reach a much 

larger audience, including stakeholders across the Intelligence Community 

(IC), affinity groups, partners in academe, and the general public. The result 

was a larger pool of qualified candidates than previous searches.

This most recent presidential selection committee was expanded to 

include representation from across the Intelligence Community, as well 

as representatives from the faculty senate and the Board of Visitors. 

IC agency directors were afforded the opportunity to interview the top 

two candidates and provide their input to the DIA Director, who made 

his final decision in consultation with both the Director of National 

Intelligence and the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. 

1988

NIU Led by First 

Civilian Commandant

1994

Leadership Transition from 

Commandant to President

2009

NIU Adopts a President 

Selection Process

2017

NIU Advances New President 

Selection Committee & Process

1962-1988 

NIU Headed by Military Commandants

Appointed by DIA Director
3

“NIU is proud of its association with DIA and thankful to Director 

LtGen Vincent Stewart and all of his predecessors who have 

guided our development. The university is also thankful to all 

of the people and offices in the HQ building who have supported 

us over the years ... While NIU has left HQ, it has not left DIA. 

The university is proud to remain an integral component of DIA, 

even as the institution’s mission expands to serve as the center of 

academic life for the entire intelligence community.”

 ‒Former NIU President, Dr. David Ellison

AFTER 33 YEARS AT DIA 

HEADQUARTERS, NIU NOW CALLS 

ROBERDEAU HALL AT ICC-B HOME

NIU completed its relocation to a new facility at the Intelligence Community 

Campus in Bethesda, MD in February 2017. The phased move of the NIU 

main campus from Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, in Washington, DC began 

in November 2016. Students from the Class of 2017 had the distinction of 

being the first graduates from the new campus. 

NIU invites all IC and DoD officers to visit the new campus and encourages 

everyone to take advantage of the unique professional opportunities NIU 

offers. Whether as a student taking classes toward certificates or degrees; 

a research fellow doing a deep dive into classified research topics, or a 

faculty member teaching future leaders, all are welcome at NIU!
4

PROGRESSING INITIATIVES

BUILDING AN INTELLIGENCE DATA 

SCIENCE CONCENTRATION

In 2015, the Director of National Intelligence tasked NIU to create a 

robust data analytics intelligence concentration within the existing 

Master of Science and Technology Intelligence degree program. 

Faculty from the School established a partnership with staff from the 

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Virginia Tech 

Advanced Research Corporation (VT-ARC) to conduct a three-phased 

effort to build a new concentration.

PHASE I: VT-ARC and PNNL conducted an Academic survey from 

October 2016 through January 2017. The team compiled a list of data 

analytics needs from the IC to identify required Knowledge, Skills, and 

Abilities (KSAs). These were mapped according to Bloom’s Learning 

Taxonomy to develop a list of learning objectives on which to build the 

new data science program. This effort involved experts from multiple 

Intelligence Community agencies, as well as the United States Special 

Operations Command, 25th Air Force, and the 318th Information 

Operations Group. The team then consulted with leading data science 

professors at academic institutions to include the University of Washington, 

Johns Hopkins University, Purdue University, the University of New 

Mexico, the University of Michigan, Stanford University, Pennsylvania 

State University, the Air Force Institutes of Technology, and the National 

Defense University. The team then assembled a study report that identified 

the types of graduate-level courses and programs that best addressed the 

Intelligence Community’s needs for data science education.

PHASE II: A data science workshop at VT-ARC’s facility in Arlington, 

VA convened in January 2017. The workshop focused on establishing 

teams with both IC and academic experts to address five functional 

areas of knowledge that were most critical for building the School’s new 

concentration and curriculum.

This workshop brought together top academic experts from Virginia Tech, 

North Carolina State University, Georgetown University, George Washington 

University, the University of Maryland, and the University of Florida. IC 

experts from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security 

Agency (NSA), the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), 

DIA, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National GeospatialIntelligence Agency (NGA) were mixed with the academic experts in 

functional focus groups. The functional areas covered were:

1. Preparatory Knowledge – What prerequisite knowledge should 

students have before they can participate in a master’s level data 

analytics program? This team concluded that students should be 

able to: 

• Comprehend, contrast, and appraise data science philosophy.

• Understand the processes and uses of data science tools 

and techniques with various data forms.

2. Ethics – What constitutes the principled and ethical use and 

behavior of knowledge bases? This team concluded that students 

will need to learn to evaluate, appraise, and inherently incorporate 

ethics in: 

• Getting, holding, and analyzing data

• How various communications methodologies can provide 

intelligence that “informs.”

2016-17 IN REVIEW
5

3. Tools and Techniques – How can technologies, modelling 

tools, assumptions, and visualization methods incorporate data 

and algorithms to go from “data” to “information?” This team 

determined that students should:

• Learn to describe, recognize, and understand the role of 

mathematics in both data engineering and data science.

4. Emerging Technologies & Directions – How should the IC 

prepare for the future of data science, rather than simply uploading 

the next version of software? This team agreed that students should:

• Learn to evaluate and understand new and emerging data 

science technologies to include extensions, visual analytics, 

discovery, and artificial intelligence.

5. Communications and Visualization – How can intelligence 

professionals communicate the results of their intelligence 

data analysis to best support the needs of policy-makers and 

commanders? The team identified the need for students to:

• Learn the strengths and weaknesses of several different 

data visualization tools, so that they can apply the most 

appropriate solutions for their customers.

Key results of the workshop are shown in Figure 1. The teams identified 

the foundational elements of data science that the School of Science 

and Technology Intelligence must cover in its new program. These 

include cross-disciplinary topics in mathematics, computer science, 

and visualization.

PHASE III: The final phase of the data science effort was for NIU 

faculty to work with PNNL and VT-ARC staff to build a curriculum 

for the new Data Science Concentration. The team chose to apply the 

curriculum model used by North Carolina State University for its master’s 

degree program in data science. The result is Figure 2, which depicts NIU 

and School of Science and Technology Intelligence core required courses 

and the new courses for the concentration, laid out across NIU’s academic 

year schedule. Unlike other NIU graduate programs, this curriculum 

includes a capstone exercise to enable students to pull together and apply 

concepts from the various component courses.

This will be an ambitious and rigorous program of study, which will 

develop future IC leaders who can understand and apply data analysis 

against critical national security intelligence problems. The School plans to 

start offering new courses as electives in the spring of academic year 2018 

(AY 2018), with the full concentration available to students in AY 2019, 

contingent upon having sufficient faculty members with the appropriate 

skills and knowledge.
6

FIGURE 1. DATA SCIENCE FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS

Mathematics

• Statistics

• Algebra/ Linear Algebra

• Graph Theory

Computer Science

• Python/R

• Underpinning Role 

 in Data Analytics

Visualization

• Visual Analytics

• Communication of 

 Data Findings
7

FIGURE 2. DATA SCIENCE CONCENTRATION CURRICULUM

Fall Winter Spring Summer Data Science 

Electives

Thesis Methodology: 701

Elective Courses

Experiential Resources: Reinforce – Research – Thesis: S&T, Cyber, Data Science: Intelligence-based laboratory learning

Elective Courses

DS: Cyber Analytics

NIU Core: 609 Collection

NIU Core: 607 Intel, Reasoning 

and Analysis

DS: Data types, Tools and 

Structures - Elective

DS: Ethics and Communications 

- Elective

DS: Tech Surprise Analytics

NIU Core: 608 Leadership 

and Management

S&TI Program Requirement: 613

NIU Core: 611, Intelligence and 

National Security Policy

Data Science Philosophy, Tools 

and Structures

Underpinning role of 

Mathematics in DS

IC Mission Specific Team 

Exercise

Complete

Thesis

Ethics and Communications

Emerging DS Technologies 

and Directions (e.g.)

Visual Analytics/Discovery/AI

Addressed and Reinforced in each Course

• Ethics and Analytics Philosophy 

• Communications – Reporting – Lexicon - Routine writing/presentation assignments

The Data Science Curriculum 

5 concentration course modules
8

“The new line supports the University’s faculty research 

emphasis and will help keep NIU faculty and student 

research visible to our colleagues throughout the IC.” 

 --OOR Deputy Vice President, Dr. Robert Smith

THE SIX TYPES OF 

NIU RESEARCH SHORTS 

1. Insight, the most common format, is built around new research 

or a compelling insight. 

2. Point/Counterpoint is a debate in article form where one 

contributor argues one side of an issue and another takes the 

opposing view.

3. Opportunities address potential solutions to challenges 

or problems.

4. Sounding Board gives writers an opportunity to present 

research that is not yet fully formed and to elicit feedback, context, 

or a missing part of the puzzle from others in the IC. This may 

help researchers find collaborators from throughout the IC.

5. Contrarian takes an alternative analysis, or “red-cell,” approach.

6. Catalyst is designed to spark positive conversations on the 

future of analysis and other topics.

OOR plans to coordinate this new publication line to compliment other 

publishing efforts. For some contributors, writing a Research Short may 

be a stepping stone to writing a longer product. For others, it may be 

a way to share work with a different readership or to share portions of 

ongoing research projects.

NIU RESEARCH SHORTS

NIU’s Office of Research (OOR) spent 2017 preparing a new line of 

publications, NIU Research Shorts, for dissemination to the IC. The new 

line of two to six page publications debuts in AY 2018. The publications 

are a cross between academic occasional papers and conventional analytic 

products, and are intended to be punchy and insightful. 
9

PROGRAMS AND EVENTS 

THE PRESIDENT’S LECTURE SERIES

The President’s Lecture Series (PLS) is a weekly guest speaker program where 

Cabinet level officials, agency directors, senior intelligence and national 

security leaders, and other experts speak on important intelligence topics 

and share their thoughts and lessons learned with NIU faculty members and 

students. It is designed to supplement the classroom experience and provide 

a broad and diverse base of exposure to key IC topics and senior leadership. A 

key value of the PLS is that students have the rare opportunity to interact with 

these senior intelligence leaders personally during a question and answer 

period. This informative and candid interactive exchange brings the material 

home to the students in a real way and greatly enhances the students’ broader 

understanding of the intricacies within and around the IC. As one student in 

the Class of 2017 put it:

The AY 2016-17 PLS featured the most impressive array of senior leaders 

participating in recent history, all of whom were asked to speak on 21st 

Century intelligence challenges facing their organizations. Of note, the last 

three speakers in this year’s series were alumni leaders: Assistant Secretary 

of State for Diplomatic Security, Bill Miller ’02; U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) 

Director of Intelligence, Brigadier General William Seely ’04; and Coast 

Guard Director of Intelligence, Rear Admiral Robert Hayes ’93. 

“[The] Speaker provided insights to current and future 

issues, which are not always apparent to us in class. That 

makes this speaker very valuable to the students who are 

going to have to deal with these issues in the near future.”
10

August Future Intelligence Challenges

September 21st Century Intelligence Challenges

The Challenges of Intelligence Integration with Alliance of Intelligence Operations

October Intelligence Reform and the Way Ahead

The Challenges of Intelligence Support to Law Enforcement

November

The Challenges of Intelligence and Journalism in the 21st Century

The Value of Demography in Predictive Intelligence

21st Century NSA Intelligence Challenges

December

Interdiction of Nuclear Proliferation Networks

21st Century Department of Homeland Security Intelligence Challenges

Complexities of Counterterrorism in the Post Arab Spring

January 21st Century NGA Intelligence Challenges

February Intelligence Challenges of Supporting Diplomacy in the 21st Century

March

21st Century Challenges of Intelligence Support to the Warfighter

Challenges of HUMINT in the Age of Social Media and Biometrics

Space and Technical Intelligence

The Future of Intelligence

April

21st Century Marine Corps Intelligence Challenges: USMC Intelligence, Surveillance, and 

Reconnaissance (ISR)

Balancing Diplomacy vs. Security: The Challenges of Diplomatic Security Abroad

Intelligence Challenges for the U.S. Coast Guard

AY 2016-17 PLS 

TOPICS SCHEDULE
11

NIU RESEARCH FELLOWS

NIU hosted four Research Fellows from across the IC; Mr. Peter 

Courtney, Dr. Alan Dugger, Dr. Neguib Hassan, and CDR Shawn Koch. 

These Fellows spent the entire academic year at NIU’s Center for Strategic 

Intelligence Research (CSIR) working on their specific topics.

MR. PETER COURTNEY

FOREIGN INFLUENCE EFFECTS

An intelligence analyst at the FBI, Mr. Courtney researched how best to 

analyze and counter foreign influence efforts, particularly those where 

foreign countries hire U.S. public relations and lobbying firms. Mr. 

Courtney developed a method to unveil foreign influence efforts focused 

on the U.S. media and used this method to determine the effects of such 

influence efforts.

DR. ALAN DUGGER

INTRA-GROUP CONFLICT 

& COOPERATION 

An analyst at the National Ground Intelligence Center, Dr. Dugger 

studied intra-group conflict and cooperation using agent-based network 

simulations in which the decision to conflict or cooperate arose from 

social balance processes. The results of these simulations gave insight into 

the patterns resulting from the interaction of conflict and cooperation 

between actors in a given group.

DR. NEGUIB HASSAN

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

TECHNOLOGY

A nuclear intelligence analyst from the Department of Energy, Dr. Hassan 

evaluated the interest and ability of U.S. nuclear adversaries to adopt 

and incorporate additive manufacturing (AM) technology, also known 

as 3D printing, into their nuclear fuel cycle and weapons development 

programs. Specifically, the project addressed the characteristics and 

performances of AM processes, equipment, and materials to make 

nuclear components and the ways in which the adoption of AM might 

degrade the effectiveness of export control and/or change the nuclear 

proliferation picture in the next 5-10 years.

CDR SHAWN KOCH

EXPLOITING ACCESS

Detailed from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), CDR Koch examined the 

Guard’s long-standing claim that it enjoys unique maritime, military, and 

multi-mission access across the globe. This mixed-method study analyzed 

archival data, survey results, and interview responses to determine how 

well the Guard exploits its unique access to support the IC.
12

NIU College of Strategic Intelligence faculty members, Dr. Michael 

Metcalf, Mr. Joseph O'Neill, and Mr. Wayne Hugar, delivered the four 

certificate courses to military and civilian students assigned to USPACOM 

intelligence agencies and commands.

The certificate enhances the ability of intelligence and national security 

professionals to recognize, analyze, and forecast China's state behavior 

across a spectrum of priority intelligence and security concerns, both 

regionally and globally. Students earning this certificate learn how to 

develop and apply analytical frameworks that examine the drivers, 

objectives, strategies, and activities associated with China's comprehensive 

modernization and re-emergence as a great power.

THE 7TH ANNUAL NIU EDUCATION 

OUTREACH INITIATIVE IN COLLABORATION 

WITH USPACOM

AY 2016-17 marked the seventh annual iteration of the NIU education 

outreach initiative offering the NIU graduate Certificate of Intelligence 

Studies for China in collaboration with U.S. Pacific Command 

(USPACOM) Joint Intelligence Operations Center and several other 

area intelligence agencies. 
13

THE BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN 

INTELLIGENCE 2017 CAPSTONE

Last year’s Bachelor of Science in Intelligence (BSI) Capstone was an 

alternate futures look at Russia through 2030. In support of the project 

and to foster ties between NIU and the Department of State Bureau of 

Intelligence and Research, BSI Director and faculty member, Dr. W. 

Westbrooks, accompanied four students to the United Kingdom (UK) 

to discuss the topic. Capstone students heard from Dr. Rod Schoonover 

from the National Intelligence Council’s Strategic Futures Group and 

two BSI graduates from the class of 2016, who shared their Capstone 

experiences. These interactions gave the 2017 class insightful perspectives 

to help them navigate through the eight-week project. 

THE 5TH ANNUAL DIRECTOR, DIA-USPACOM 

J2 2017 EAST ASIA WORKSHOP

NIU College of Strategic Intelligence faculty members, Mr. Wayne Hugar 

and Mr. Steve Park, and NIU Research faculty member, Dr. Phuong Hoang, 

facilitated the 5th Annual Director, DIA and USPACOM J2 co-sponsored 

2017 East Asia Workshop. This NIU education outreach event marks 

the fifth annual iteration of this classified working group event which 

focuses on current and emerging priority intelligence and security topics 

for East Asia. Nineteen U.S. and Allied civilian and military intelligence 

professionals produced three alternative-future scenarios focusing on 

specific key questions about the East Asia security environment that are 

of interest to the IC.
14

QUANTICO ACADEMIC CENTER: 

THREE YEARS AND RUNNING

Quantico Academic Center (QAC), located on the campus of the FBI 

Academy in Quantico, VA, completed its third year of operation in 2017 

graduating its second cohort of part-time MSSI students and its third 

cohort of part-time students in the Certificate of Intelligence Studies (CIS) 

in Counterintelligence. In total, 49 students representing 22 organizations 

and agencies took classes at the QAC during the academic year.

QAC primarily serves students who live and work in the vicinity of 

Marine Corps Base Quantico (MCBQ), which houses numerous 

agencies and activities. Numerous Federal agencies/activities are 

located on, or in the immediate vicinity of MCBQ. These various 

agencies/activities support a large and diverse student population, and 

enrollment continues to meet or exceed expectations.

QAC students can earn either the MSSI over 2 years or a CIS in 

Counterintelligence over a single year. The FBI provides a full-time 

director and staff officer to operate the center. QAC faculty consists of 

both full-time and adjunct faculty members. 
15
16

DIA’s Joint Counterintelligence Training 

Academy

Economic Intelligence Strategy Board at 

Langley

Ethos and Profession of Intelligence 

Conference

George Washington University

Georgetown School of Foreign Service

High Value Interrogation Group

Research Symposium

Institute of World Politics

Inter-American Defense College 

International Association of Defense Counsel 

Joint History Office, Joint Staff

Joint Military Attaché School Embassy 

Reception Exercise

Kent School

Minerva Meeting and Program Review (2016)

National Museum of American History

National Security Agency

National Security Council

FACULTY AND STAFF 

ACHIEVEMENT

ACADEMIC & COMMUNITY

CSI faculty participated in over 130 outreach 

activities during the year, excluding classified 

events. Some of these academic and community 

ties include:

Amazing Women in the Intelligence 

Community

American Legion Post (Chevy Chase, MD)

Annual Conference for the Association for 

Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies

Bluegrass State Intelligence Community 

Center of Academic Excellence Consortium

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Daniel Morgan Academy

Defense Intelligence Training and Education 

Board

Department of State

DIA’s Academy of Defense Intelligence

DIA’s Asia Pacific Regional Center

National Security Executive Leadership 

Seminar

Northwestern University

Penn State’s Academic Leadership Academy

U.S. Army War College

U.S. Army’s Intelligence and Security 

Command Senior Leader’s Conference

U.S. Coast Guard Intelligence Center

U.S. Institute of Peace on ISIS

Vanderbilt Law School

RESEARCH & PUBLICATION

CDR Y. Aboul-Enein “Combating Violent 

Islamist Groups: The Absolute Need for Our 

Muslim Partners,” was published in NGA’s 

Pathfinder magazine.

Mr. C. Bailey, JD (2017). "The Quest for 

Justice: Joseph Kony & the Lord's Resistance 

Army," Fordham International Law Journal, 

Vol 40, Iss 5.

Mr. C. Bailey, JD (2016, November 4-5). 

Attended the National Doctor of Juridical 

Science (SJD) Roundtable at the American 

University Law School in Washington, 
17

DC. He presented his dissertation research 

on Counterterrorism Law & Practice in 

the East Africa Community and provided 

feedback to SJD candidates working 

national security law topics.

Mr. C. Bailey, JD (2016, December). "Cyber 

Civilians as Combatants," 8 Creighton 

International and Comparative Law Journal 

4-22.

Mr. C. Bailey, JD (2016). "The Moral-Ethical 

Domain & The Intelligence Practitioner," 

American Intelligence Journal, vol. 33, no. 1.

Mr. W. Blackwell (2017). “Alien and 

Philosophy: I Infest Therefore I Am,” 

an edited volume containing a chapter 

contributed to NIU faculty, COL Melancon. 

This chapter examines the tensions between 

political realism and the just-war tradition in 

times of conflict, as demonstrated through the 

lens of the Alien film franchise.

Dr. D. Burghart (2016, November 4-6). 

Presented his paper on “Eurasian Energy 

Futures” to the Central Eurasian Studies 

Society Conference at Princeton University.

Mr. J. Caddell (2016, December). Accepted an 

invitation from the International Association 

for Intelligence Education to speak at an 

International Association for Intelligence 

Education Washington, DC, chapter meeting. 

He presented his working paper titled, 

“Historical Case Studies in Intelligence 

Education: Best Practices, Avoidable Pitfalls,” 

at a session held at the National Cryptologic 

Museum in Ft. Meade, MD.

Mr. J. Caddell and Mr. J. Sislin. “From U-2 

to CORONA: How Intelligence Collection 

Norms Evolve” was published in the popular 

media outlet War on the Rocks. The piece 

addresses how international relations norms 

relating to intelligence collection taboos 

morph over time relative to the actions 

of states, individuals, and other “norm 

purveyors.” This is the first War On the Rocks 

piece published by CSI faculty.

Dr. J. Davis (2016, October 14). Served as 

a faculty representative and facilitator for 

CSIR-sponsored collaboration effort with 

Dr. Shashi Jayakumar of the Singapore think 

tank, S. Rajaratnam School of International 

Studies. The discussion focused on extremist 

violence in Asia. Ten members of the NIU 

faculty participated in the session.

Mr. W. Hugar Completed and submitted an 

article on Chinese leadership connections 

to both previous and extensive provincial 

reclamation projects and the South China Sea 

new island projects for the Fall issue of CSI’s 

Journal of Strategic Intelligence.

Mr. E. Jens (2017, September). "Assessment 

of James Mitchell's Enhanced Interrogation," 

Studies in Intelligence 61, no. 3.

Mr. E. Jens (2017, June). “Cold War Spy 

Fiction in Russian Popular Culture: From 

Suspicion to Acceptance via Seventeen 

Moments of Spring,” Studies in Intelligence 

61, no. 2. Mr Jens earned a “Studies in 

Intelligence” Award for 2017 for the essay.

Mr. E. Jens (2017, April). "Special 

Oversight Challenges in National Security 

Interrogation," Conference Proceedings of 

the Command and General Staff College 2017 

Ethics Conference.

Mr. E. Jens (2016, December). "A Conspiracy 

Against the Laity: The Intelligence 

Community Considered as a Profession," 

American Intelligence Journal 33, no. 1.
18

Dr. A. Kardell, Ms. J. Mendosa, and 

CDR R. Lewis. Contributed chapters 

on, homeland security, counternarcotics, 

and Coast Guard intelligence, to a book, 

“Homeland Security and Intelligence,” edited 

by Keith Logan.

Ms. J. Mendosa. Published an article, 

"Operations-Driven Intelligence: ls the Shirt 

on Backwards?" in the lnternational Journal 

of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. 

Ms. J. Mendosa (2017, June). Posted a white 

paper to the National Academies of Sciences 

website for the Decadal Survey on Social and 

Behavioral Sciences for National Security; 

topic of white paper is the need for research 

on transnational illicit networks.

Dr. B. Miller (2017, April 17). Double-blind 

peer reviewed publication, "Tomorrow's 

Europe: A Never Closer Union," was 

published in the “Journal of European 

Integration (JEI)," on-line version, hard copy 

in JEI, Vol 39, No. 4, 421-433. 

Dr. J. Shapiro (2016). “Russian Hybrid 

Warfare: Not New, Well-Accomplished, and 

Limited in Scope,” was published in Niculae 

Iancu et al, ed., Countering Hybrid Threats: 

Lessons Learned from Ukraine, (Amsterdam: 

IOS Press, 2016), published in cooperation 

with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

Emerging Security Challenges Division.

Dr. D. Shin (2017, March). “Application of 

Smart Power Strategy to Construct a More 

Effective Strategy to Denuclearize North 

Korea” was published in International 

Relations and Diplomacy.

SERVICE & AWARD

Mr. J. Caddell was awarded the 2016 

“Christopher Andrew – Michael Handel 

Prize” for best article of the year in the journal 

“Intelligence and National Security.” Mr. 

Caddell was presented the award during the 

International Studies Association conference 

in Baltimore, MD by the journal’s co-editors 

Dr. Loch Johnson from the University of 

Georgia and Dr. Mark Phythian from the 

University of Leicester. The award recognizes 

Mr. Caddell’s article “Corona over Cuba: 

The Missile Crisis and the Early Limitations 

of Satellite Imagery Intelligence” for its 

“thorough research, clear exposition, and the 

presentation of fresh archival materials.”

Mr. J. Caddell was selected as the International 

Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE) 

Instructor of the year for 2017.

LTC D. Newell was awarded the Beland 

Award as the NIU AY 2017 Faculty Member 

of the Year.

LTC J. Smith-Heys was selected to be General 

Hayden’s teaching assistant at George Mason 

University during the spring semester.

Lt Col C. Speranza, PhD and Dr. D. Pfaff

presented their paper, “Trust: A Critical 

Variable in the Intelligence Profession,” 

at the Australian Institute of Professional 

Intelligence Officers in Brisbane, Australia.

Lt Col C. Speranza, PhD was awarded the 

2017 NIU Faculty Research Award. The NIU 

Faculty Research Award is presented by NIU’s 

Office of Research and recognizes the best 

faculty research conducted for the Intelligence 

Community on strategic intelligence. 

Nominees are selected based on publication of 

research in peer-reviewed journals and going 

“above and beyond” on research support to 

NIU doctoral students. 

Mr. W. Hugar, Dr. A. Kardell, Maj D. Kritz, 

and Dr. D. Newell were awarded Faculty of 

the Quarter for AY 2017.
19

WOMEN AND ACADEMIC 

PERFORMANCE

Dr. Brian Holmes, Associate Dean of the 

Anthony G. Oettinger School of Science 

and Technology Intelligence (S&TI), and 

two S&TI graduates, Ms. Kimberly Reubush 

‘14, and Ms. Maria-Kristina Hayden ’16 

published an article, Renaissance Women: A 

Perfect Match for Science and Technology 

Intelligence Education in the American 

Intelligence Journal-National Military 

Intelligence Association (NMIA).

The article caught the attention of NIU’s 

Women’s Caucus, who invited the authors 

to discuss the article in an open forum with 

university faculty and other IC members. The 

forum brought about a lively discussion about 

women, the struggle and advancements of 

women, and what is being recognized nationwide in regards to women and graduate/

post graduate statistics (enrollment, degrees, 

and grade-point averages) which paralleled 

comments from the article’s reviewer, Dr. 

Arden L. Bement.

“Thank you for this interesting and 

enlightening article. I found parallels 

at Purdue’s Global Policy Research 

Institute with the performance of women 

students in developing policy briefs on 

global grand challenges that required 

analyzing the interrelationships among 

technical, social and economic factors. 

Often women students were selected by 

their teammates as team leaders. Over 

the past six years, women students in 

the program have garnered prestigious 

scholarships for international study, 

such as the Fulbright, Truman, and 

U.S. Presidential programs. They had 

something to prove and they certainly did.”

—Dr. Arden L. Bement, Jr., former 

Inaugural Director of the Global Policy 

Research Institute at Purdue, and former 

Director of the National Science Foundation, Director of the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology, and Deputy 

Undersecretary of Defense.

The full article follows and is also published 

in the American Intelligence Journal, Vol. 34, 

No. 1, 2017.

[Authors’ Note: The views expressed in this article 

are ours alone and do not imply endorsement 

by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Federal 

Bureau of Investigation, the Department of 

Defense, or the U.S. government.]

21

RENAISSANCE WOMEN: 

A PERFECT MATCH FOR 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 

INTELLIGENCE EDUCATION

by Kimberly Reubush, 

Maria-Kristina Hayden, 

and Dr. Brian Holmes

INTRODUCTION

In March of 2016, four female graduate 

students from the National Intelligence 

University (NIU) took on an impromptu 

challenge proposed by their instructor – 

enter and compete in the U.S. Cyber 9/12 

Student Challenge. The Atlantic Council 

describes the event as “an annual cyber policy 

competition for students across the globe to 

compete in developing national security policy 

recommendations tackling a fictional cyber 

catastrophe.”1

 Despite no institutional history 

in this competition, the team placed second 

out of 40 teams from 25 universities. Although 

it was not surprising to the NIU faculty that 

they did well, their success prompted a more 

significant debate about the reasons why they 

did so well in not only the competition, but 

also in the Anthony G. Oettinger School of 

Science and Technology Intelligence.2

 This 

debate sparked an informal research study 

into the backgrounds of successful female 

students like this team to better understand 

their experiences and viewpoints, in an effort 

to see if there were any key factors they shared 

in common. The research and observations 

focused primarily on female graduate students 

in the full-time program who earned a Master 

of Science and Technology in Intelligence 

(MSTI) degree from the School of Science and 

Technology Intelligence at NIU.

According to data obtained from NIU’s Office 

of Institutional Effectiveness, since the MSTI 

degree’s inception in 2012, women have 

performed exceedingly well in the School’s 

full-time program, based on scientific and 

technical intelligence (S&TI)-aligned research 

awards won and overall GPAs. This is in spite 

of the fact that less than one quarter of the 

School’s full-time graduate student population 

is female. In 2012, the female population 

represented only 7 percent of the total, whereas 

in subsequent academic years it ranged from 

21 to 24 percent. According to an analysis of 

the 10 highest GPAs in the School since 2012, 

6 were obtained by female students. Those 

women attended NIU with undergraduate 

degrees in biology, international affairs, 

political science, and marine environmental 

science to name a few, and came from a variety 

of different government agencies and Military 

Services. There was no singular undergraduate 

educational degree or background that was 

reflected by this particular student sampling.

THE MODERN SCIENCE AND 

TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE 

PROFESSIONAL

There is far more to spying than just spying.3

Many of today’s intelligence analysts and 

collectors play the role of the modern day 

Renaissance man. Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian 

polymath, is considered the quintessential 

Renaissance man example because he excelled 

at several fields in science and the arts.4 To say 

that today’s S&TI professionals, or functional 

experts, have to succeed in this interdisciplinary 

manner would be an understatement.5

“Scientific and technical intelligence” is based 

on a working knowledge of the underpinnings 

of the science and technology that enter into 

the intelligence realm.6

 Areas of focus often 

include the analysis of weapons of mass 

destruction, emerging technologies, and cyber 

issues among others. Within several years 

of hiring, these unique intelligence officers 
22

are expected to synergize a vast spectrum of 

organizational tradecraft manuals, foreign and 

domestic policies, laws, bureaucracies, terms 

of art, languages, and of course geopolitical, 

military, diplomatic, economic, scientific, and 

technological subjects spanning countries 

and actors, spliced together in a global 

context.7 It is not enough to master a single 

discipline to do well and meet the mission 

requirements prescribed by Executive Order 

12333, and driven by Intelligence Community 

Directive 204, which guides evolving national 

intelligence priorities.8 During the Cold War, 

many new intelligence hires had degrees related 

to Russian studies or were military weapons 

experts and focused on those areas for years.9

While this type of experience is still valued and 

used today, this hiring and career paradigm is 

a distant relic. Most new employees now are 

required to broaden out their expertise within 

a few years.

WHAT’S IN A GENDER 

OR DEGREE?

A recent study by the University of Washington 

described why some science, technology, 

engineering, and math (STEM) fields have 

fewer women than others.10 Nowhere in the 

study was there evidence of a lack of ability as 

a primary factor. Instead, a lack of pre-college 

experience in STEM, gender gaps in belief in 

one's abilities, and a masculine culture that 

discourages women from participating were 

determined factors most likely to explain 

gendered patterns in the six STEM fields 

evaluated. Jenny Anderson also wrote a story 

in Quartz describing gender trends within 

STEM, across multiple countries, that detailed 

why each gender is more inclined to pursue 

different jobs in science-related fields.11

A quick survey of the type of educational 

backgrounds represented by functional S&TI 

experts reveals that STEM and social science 

degrees are currently represented. Classic STEM 

disciplines might be in the majority depending 

on the agency and office, but that hiring trend 

is more mission centric than the universal rule. 

Some analysts even have both on their resumes. 

Ultimately, regardless of their educational 

specialty, every S&TI officer has to learn aspects 

of the other. You are just as likely to find a 

technical collector who is a jack-of-all-trades, as 

to find a “specialist.” Each is needed. Interestingly, 

new articles communicate the idea that in today’s 

world, the barriers between the two discipline 

“groups” are dissolving.12 There are modern 

undergraduate programs that embody the best 

aspects of these blended ideals. For instance, 

Georgetown University created the Science, 

Technology, and International Affairs major in 

its Walsh School of Foreign Service.13 Its website 

aptly notes that “now more than ever, science 

and technology are at the heart of international 

affairs”. Regardless, the fact is that S&TI as an 

intelligence profession is far more inclusive than 

it is believed to be. The Anthony G. Oettinger 

School of Science and Technology Intelligence is 

similar in that regard to its students.

A diverse set of experts who can multitask 

and can draw from a spectrum of educational 

backgrounds and experiences to fully integrate 

their knowledge base is needed in order to 

provide the best possible intelligence products 

to customers.14

RESEARCH FOR IMPACT

A common trait revealed through an interview 

process was the fact that many NIU female 

MSTI students were as proactive as they were 

open to structured guidance. They were also 

driven to seek creative solutions to unique S&TI 

problems that would be impactful for their 

customers. Rarely did they perform research for 

the sake of research, and few were risk averse. 

The background work and outreach required 
23

to understand the strategic intelligence and 

its national security relevance in context was 

just as important as the results many of these 

women achieved. This tended to integrate 

far more social science methodologies than 

scientific ones.15 Ultimately, the female 

students creatively blended academic theory 

with intelligence practice in a transparent 

and synergistic fashion across fields.16 A 

significant percentage of female students did 

it well and therefore won awards.

Of the numerous university thesis awards 

listed in the current NIU academic catalog, 

three are generally aligned to the Science and 

Technology Intelligence School’s curriculum 

and themes. These include the Scientific and 

Technical Intelligence Committee Award 

(STIC), the National Intelligence S&T Award 

(S&T), and the National Intelligence Officer 

for Cyber Intelligence Research Award 

(NIO Cyber).17 Since 2014, the 1st year the 

NIO Cyber award was introduced, female 

graduate students from the School have won 

33 percent (1 out of 3) of the thesis awards 

granted. Since 2012, they won 50 percent of 

the S&T awards (3 out of 6) granted (two 

students won the award in 2015 as a result 

of a tie), and 60 percent (3 out of 5) of the 

STIC awards. In 2016, all three of these thesis 

awards were won by female S&TI students, 

despite women representing only 21 percent 

of the School’s full-time population that year. 

Overall, women have won 50 percent of all 

the S&T awards granted since 2012. Male 

students won the S&T and STIC award in 

2012 when the female student population was 

only 7 percent (or 2 students) of the total. The 

average full-time population of women and 

men in the School from 2012 to 2016 was 35 

students per year.

WOMEN WEIGH IN

When asked directly, some female MSTI 

students attribute their success to personal 

pride. In the male-dominated fields of science, 

technology, intelligence, and the military, 

both servicewomen and civilians have a lot to 

prove—partly to themselves, and partly to the 

male-dominated battlefield and conference 

room. It is not about competition, necessarily, 

but rather preempting the gender stereotypes 

that never fit many of these high achievers.

Kimberly Reubush and Maria-Kristina Hayden 

are alumnae of the Science and Technology 

Intelligence School and coauthors of this 

article. They shared their personal perspectives 

of the program and their challenges. Reubush, 

a 2014 NIU alumnus from the Federal Bureau 

of Investigation (FBI), was the first person 

from her organization to be nominated 

into the MSTI program. In order to attend, 

she had to convince not only her division’s 

management of the positive benefits of the 

program, but also her agency’s executive 

management to modify their application 

policy. This required a significant amount of 

time and effort. She believed that it was critical 

to learn how to better explain the scientific 

and technical data produced in her job in 

order to contextualize it in a strategic way 

to meet the Intelligence Community’s (IC’s) 

requirements and better serve her customers. 

In this manner, NIU’s S&TI program seemed 

like a perfect destination for her. Failure in the 

program was not an option for her, and could 

have negatively affected future personnel 

from her agency seeking these unique 

educational opportunities.

Reubush, a bench scientist at the FBI 

accustomed to producing technical forensic 

evaluations, needed to learn how to think 

more like an all-source intelligence analyst 

upon arrival at NIU. She recognized and 

overcame this challenge by pairing up with a 

classmate who was a professional analyst and 

did not have a scientific background like hers. 
24

The two collaborated closely to complement 

their skills and strengthen their foundational 

knowledge in their effort to succeed. For her 

thesis research, rather than apply strictly 

qualitative based research methods commonly 

used in social science, Reubush leveraged the 

capabilities of her home agency, FBI’s Terrorist 

Explosive Device Analytical Center (TEDAC), 

to conduct a series of improvised explosive 

experiments to validate critical intelligence, 

and integrated her quantitative results with 

qualitative analysis. The execution of this type 

of mixed methodology was not representative 

of the majority of NIU theses. There was an 

inherent risk in the effort based on the limited 

time available in an 11-month degree program 

and the complex approval and material 

acquisition chain involved. She overcame these 

challenges, and her thesis stood out upon its 

successful completion. Reubush used the data 

collected to demonstrate a more definitive 

answer to address an explosive device’s 

effectiveness, which built on the IC’s initial 

hypothetical assessment.

After graduation, Reubush was assigned a 

project at the FBI to help determine better ways 

by which scientific results, originally generated 

for legal cases, could also be appropriately 

exploited in the IC. She applies the skills her 

degree provided, including her ability to speak 

both scientific and intelligence terms of art, to 

improve her support to and integration with 

intelligence analysts. The result is a far better 

intelligence product.

One year later, in 2015, Hayden received 

notification through the Defense Intelligence 

Agency that her third application to NIU’s 

MSTI program had been accepted. Hayden had 

remained determined to attend because of the 

similarities between NIU’s MSTI program, and 

her multidisciplinary “Science, Technology, 

and International Affairs” undergraduate 

degree within Georgetown’s School of Foreign 

Service. While at Georgetown, Hayden applied 

twice for the Department of Defense Science, 

Mathematics, and Technology Research for 

Transformation (SMART) scholarship, and as 

a senior became the first Georgetown student 

grantee. The award paid for her final year 

at Georgetown and paired her with a postgraduation analytic position at the Pentagon. 

A few years later, NIU became the logical 

continuation of an education that spanned 

both STEM topics and strategic issues.

During her time at NIU, Hayden sought 

to maximize the short 11-month program 

through extracurricular engagement and 

networking. She was determined to achieve 

in the classroom (she earned the second 

highest GPA in the University) and deliver 

an impactful thesis. For an elective course 

deliverable in NIU’s cyber concentration, she 

became a member of the four-woman team 

that won second place at the Atlantic Council’s 

U.S. Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge in 2016. 

She proudly recalls her team staying up all 

weekend drafting and presenting U.S. policy 

response options based on a post-cyberattack 

scenario for the Challenge. Separately, she 

created a mixed method research design that 

entailed interviewing energy executives about 

their cybersecurity challenges and testing her 

qualitative conclusions with a quantitative 

analysis of their responses. Maria ultimately 

won the 2016 Elizebeth S. Friedman Award 

in recognition of the master’s thesis that most 

significantly contributes to the U.S. homeland 

security intelligence mission.18

CONCLUSION

After interviewing several different alumni and 

current female graduate students in the Science 

and Technology Intelligence School, including 

Reubush and Hayden, a few final trends were 

observed. Every student emphasized the desire 

to learn how to more effectively “bridge the 
25

gap,” or integrate technical analysis and 

strategic assessments. There are numerous 

articles describing the complexities and 

challenges S&TI analysts face when conveying 

information to policymakers.19 NIU’s 

graduate program became a destination for 

students desiring to learn how to perform this 

duty more effectively. Reubush and Hayden 

pursued this goal tirelessly.20 Regardless of the 

service or agency the students represented, 

improvement in this area was a key component 

to their success.

Similarly, the School’s female students were 

driven to creatively plan and execute original 

thesis research that often bridged academic 

disciplines, methodologies, and intelligence 

practitioner norms. Incorporating the 

best aspects of quantitative and qualitative 

techniques and blending the research to 

support challenging intelligence mission 

areas resulted in a superior level of effort well 

received by senior intelligence officers and 

the broader national security community.21

Almost in unison, all of the female students 

interviewed communicated that they tended 

to more proactively seek professional guidance 

when they required assistance than their male 

peers. This tendency likely enabled a more 

effective pathway toward achieving success in 

the classroom and their research. Most tied 

this to a personal need to be more persistent 

to reach their goals. Ultimately, it is clear that 

these female graduate students in the Science 

and Technology Intelligence School wanted 

to represent and prove themselves as top of 

their class. They certainly did, and the School 

certainly wants more Renaissance women 

like them.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: 

Kimberly Reubush earned a Master of Science 

and Technology Intelligence degree from 

the Anthony G. Oettinger School of Science 

and Technology Intelligence at the National 

Intelligence University in 2014, and currently 

serves as a supervisory forensic examiner 

at the FBI’s Terrorist Explosive Device 

Analytical Center in Huntsville, Alabama. 

Maria-Kristina Hayden earned a Master of 

Science and Technology Intelligence degree 

from the Anthony G. Oettinger School of 

Science and Technology Intelligence at the 

National Intelligence University in 2016, and 

recently joined the Cyber Threat Intelligence 

Group of a global financial institution as Vice 

President and Senior Information Security 

Analyst after serving as an intelligence analyst 

at the Defense Intelligence Agency. 

Dr. Brian T. Holmes is the Associate Dean of 

the Anthony G. Oettinger School of Science 

and Technology Intelligence at the National 

Intelligence University, which recently moved 

from Washington, DC, to the Intelligence 

Community Campus-Bethesda, MD. He is a 

former research scientist, Navy officer, and 

intelligence analyst.

1 The Atlantic Council, http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/

programs/brent-scowcroft-center/cyber-statecraft/cyber9- 12 (accessed on January 24, 2017).

2 The Anthony G. Oettinger School of Science and 

Technology Intelligence, http://ni-u.edu/wp/academics/

schools/college-of-science-and-technology-intelligence/ 

(accessed on January 24, 2017). 

3 Why The Best Spies in Mossad And The CIA Are Women, 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/crossingborders/2012/09/30/

why-the-best-spies-in-mossad-and-the-cia-arewomen/#2bb853af2bb0 (accessed on January 23, 2017).

4 Biography of Leonardo da Vinci, http://www.biography.

com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-40396#synopsis (accessed 

on January 24, 2017).

5 Scientific and Technical Intelligence Analysis, https://

www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of- intelligence/

kent-csi/vol19no1/html/v19i1a06p_0001.htm (accessed on 

January 23, 2017).
26

14 What is Knowledge Integration, http://www.igi-global.com/

dictionary/knowledge-integration/16357 

(accessed March 15, 2017).

15 Intelligence Careers, https://www.intelligencecareers.gov/ 

(accessed on March 1, 2017).

16 Critical Thinking For Strategic Intelligence, https://www.

amazon.com/Critical-Thinking-Strategic-Intelligence-Katherine/

dp/1452226679/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_

rd_i=1452226679&pd_rd_r=YMHYMNV7R15 

M30KHWT8Q&pd_rd_w=pJfp2&pd_rd_

wg=DDJrU&psc=1&refRID=YMHYMNV7R15M30KHWT8Q 

(accessed on February 20, 2017).

17 NIU Academic Catalog; The Scientific and Technical 

Intelligence Committee Award is presented in recognition of 

the master’s thesis that most significantly contributes to the 

advancement of experimental science in an IC-related thesis. 

Submissions are evaluated for originality, experimentation, lab 

research, and overall contribution to the knowledge base in an 

S&T intelligence-related field; The National Intelligence S&T 

(Science and Technology) Award is presented by the National 

Intelligence Officer in recognition of the best master’s thesis 

on an analytical science and technology intelligence topic. 

Submissions are evaluated for originality, methodology, and 

overall contribution to the knowledge base in an S&T intelligencerelated field; The Cyber Intelligence Research Award is presented 

by the National Intelligence Officer for Cyber in recognition of 

the best master's thesis in the intelligence fields of cyber analysis, 

collection, operations, policy, or strategy. Submissions are 

evaluated based on originality, analytic methodology, technical 

acumen, and practical application; http://ni-u.edu/wp/niuacademic-catalog/ (accessed on March 1, 2017).

18 NIU Academic Catalog; The Coast Guard Foundation 

presents the Elizebeth S. Friedman Award in recognition of the 

master’s thesis that most significantly contributes to the U.S. 

homeland security intelligence mission.

Submissions are evaluated for originality, thoroughness of research, 

and overall contribution to the nation’s homeland security 

intelligence program. Dubbed “America’s first female cryptanalyst,” 

Ms. Friedman solved more than 12,000 coded messages during the 

Prohibition era, effectively putting rum-running syndicates out of 

business on the U.S. Pacific and Gulf Coasts; http://ni-u.edu/wp/

niu-academic-catalog/ (accessed on March 1, 2017).

19 More Art Than Science: Intelligence and Technical Topics, 

https://warontherocks.com/2016/04/more-art-than- scienceintelligence-and-technical-topics/ (accessed on March 20, 2017).

20 A Higher Standard: Communicating Technical 

Intelligence, https://warontherocks.com/2016/06/a-higherstandard-communicating-technical-intelligence/ (accessed 

on March 20, 2017).

21 The Carrot or the Stick? Incentivizing Safe Cyber, https://

warontherocks.com/2016/10/the-carrot-or-the-stickincentivizing-safe-cyber/ (accessed on March 20, 2017).

6 Master of Science and Technology in Intelligence, http://ni-u.

edu/wp/academics/schools/college-of-science-and- technologyintelligence/master-of-science-and-technology-intelligence/ 

(accessed on January 20, 2017).

7 The Global Goals: Economic transformation in an 

interconnected world, http://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/globalgoals-economic-transformation-in-an-interconnected-world 

(accessed on January 25, 2017).

8 Intelligence Community Directives, https://www.dni.gov/index.

php/intelligence-community/ic-policies- reports/intelligencecommunity-directives (accessed on January 25, 2017).

9 CIA Analysts Highlight Value of Declassified Cold War 

Intelligence Reporting on Warsaw Pact Military Forces, https://

www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/2014-

press-releases-statements/cia-analysts- highlight-value-ofdeclassified-cold-war-intelligence-reporting-on-warsaw-pactmilitary-forces.html (accessed on February 15, 2017).

10 Why Do Some STEM Fields Have Fewer Women Than 

Others? UW Study May Have the Answer, http://www.

sciencenewsline.com/news/2016101318330092.html (accessed 

on January 20, 2017).

11 The origin of Silicon Valley’s gender problem, https://

qz.com/853435/the-origin-of-silicon-valleys-gender- problem/ 

(accessed on February 10, 2017).

12 How Social Sciences are Converging with STEM, http://www.

socialsciencespace.com/2014/01/the- contemporary-socialsciences-are-now-converging-strongly-with-stem-disciplinesin-the-study-of-human-dominated-systems-and-humaninfluenced-systems/ (accessed on February 20, 2017).

13 Science, Technology and International Affairs Major, https://

sfs.georgetown.edu/stia/ (accessed on February 25, 2017). 
27

THE 2017 

COMMENCEMENT

One of our most distinguished alumni leaders, 

retired four-star Air Force General Michael 

Hayden '80, delivered the commencement 

address at the annual graduation ceremony 

on Friday, July 28, 2017. General Hayden 

served as Director, CIA from 2006-2009, as 

first Principal Deputy Director of National 

Intelligence from 2005-2006 and as Director 

of NSA from 1999-2005. He is currently a 

principal with the Chertoff Group. General 

Hayden was awarded an honorary Doctor 

of Strategic Intelligence in 2001 and has 

continued to support NIU for many years as a 

guest speaker and lecturer and in his current 

role as Chairman of the National Intelligence 

University Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, established in 2011 to 

support NIU. He is a nationally-recognized 

and respected expert on intelligence and 

national security issues and is the author of 

the 2016 book “Playing to the Edge: American 

Intelligence in the Age of Terror.”
28

The A. Denis Clift Award Sergeant Emmanuel Perez, U.S. Army

The Ann Caracristi Naval Intelligence Foundation Award 

for Academic Excellence Gunnery Sergeant Stefan Buckman, U.S. Marine Corps

The Barton Whaley Denial and Deception Research Award Ms. Victoria Palazzolo, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

The Elizebeth S. Friedman Award Ms. Julia Fazio, Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Archival Research Award Major Aaron Danielle, U.S. Army

The Foreign Area Officer Association 

Lieutenant General Vernon A. Walters Award for International Affairs Major Chris Finch, U.S. Air Force

The Judge Allan Nathaniel Kornblum Award Awarded to Student, Department of Defense

The Lyman B. Kirkpatrick Jr. Award Captain Jake Yeager, U.S. Marine Corps

The Michael D. Kuszewski, Lieutenant Colonel, 

United States Marine Corps, Award Captain Jake Yeager, U.S. Marine Corps

The Military Order of the World Wars Award Ms. Jessica Crist, Office of Naval Intelligence

The NIU Faculty Research Award Lieutenant Colonel Carly Speranza, PhD, NIU

The National Intelligence Officer for Cyber Intelligence 

Research Award Awarded to Student, Colorado Air National Guard

The National Intelligence Officer for S&T Award Awarded to Student, Colorado Air National Guard

The National Intelligence Officer for Cyber Intelligence 

Research Award Awarded to Student, Colorado Air National Guard

The National Intelligence Officer for S&T Award Mr. Joel Van Wagenen, Central Intelligence Agency

COMMENCEMENT HONOREES AND AWARDS
29

The National Intelligence University Intelligence Research Award Ms. Julia Fazio, Federal Bureau of Investigation

National Military Intelligence Association Award Undergraduate Award: Sergeant Dustin Malm, 

U.S. Marine Corps Graduate Award: Captain Mark Harris, U.S. Army

The Non-commissioned Officers Association Military 

Excellence Award

Undergraduate Award: Master Sergeant Edward Davis, 

U.S. Air Force Graduate Award: Awarded to Student, U.S. Army

The Reserve Officers Association Award for Outstanding 

Scholarship and Military Leadership Lieutenant Colonel Robert Sander, U.S. Army National Guard

The Scientific and Technical Intelligence Committee Award Master Sergeant Amber Abramowski, U.S. Air Force

The Robert D. Beland Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching Lieutenant Colonel David Newell, U.S. Army

Sadly, BSI student, Sergeant Joshua 

Stone, lost his battle with cancer this year. 

Dr. Ellison presented a “Distinguished 

Baccalaureate Candidate” certificate to 

Josh’s family in his memory.
30

FULL-TIME/PART-TIME ENROLLMENT

QUICK FACTS (2017)

526

192

Full-time

Part-time and Other Enrollment Total: 718
31

FULL-TIME/PART-TIME ENROLLMENT

23

605

90

436

169

UNDERGRADUATE GRADUATE

GRADUATES: 605

NOTE: Non-degree includes 

certificate and continuing

education enrollment.

NON-DEGREE

Full-time

Part-time and Other
32

ENROLLMENT BY SCHOOL

611

107

CSI

SSTI

College of Strategic Intelligence (CSI)

Undergraduate: 23

Graduate: 498

(130 Full-time and 368 Part-time and Other)

Non-degree: 90

School of Science and 

Technology Intelligence (SSTI)

Graduate: 107

(39 Full-time and 68 Part-time/Other)
33

ACADEMIC CENTER LOCATION ENROLLMENT

Academic Center at 

National GeospatialIntelligence Agency

20

11

31

Academic Center

at National

Security Agency

17

26

9

European

Academic 

Center

14

23

9

Quantico

Academic

Center

10

20

10

Southern

Academic 

Center

15

35

20

Enrollment Total: 135

1st Year Enrollment Total: 76

2nd Year Enrollment Total: 59

Enrollment 1st Year

Enrollment 2nd Year
34

ADMISSION

Admissions

Rate: 83%

Undergraduate Average 

Entrance GPA 3.04

Graduate Average 

Baccalaureate GPA 3.19

Graduate Average 

Graduate GPA 3.69

Graduate Average Graduate 

Record Exam Verbal Score (GRE) 156

Graduate Average GRE 

Quantitative Reasoning Score 149

Graduate Average GRE 

Analytical Writing Score 4
35

STUDENT PROFILE

Student to Faculty Ratio

3.6:1 66%

27%

3% 1%

1%

2%

African American

Asian/Pacific Islander

Caucasian

Hispanic

Native American/Alaskan

Two or More Races

Not Reported

Student Race/Ethnicity

78%

22%

Female

Male

77%

23%

Undergraduate

72%

28%

Female

Male

Graduate

Non-IC

IC
36

GRADUATION RATES 

NIU’s full‐time graduation rate “at normal 

completion” represents the total number 

of students who received a degree (actually 

conferred) within 100 percent of normal 

completion time (1 year), divided by the total 

of first‐year degree-seeking students, minus 

allowable adjustments.

NIU’s part‐time graduation rate “at normal 

completion” represents the total number 

of students who received a degree (actually 

conferred) within 150 percent of normal 

completion time (3 years), divided by the 

total of first‐year degree-seeking students, 

minus allowable adjustments.

Graduation rates “at actual completion” 

represent the total number of first year students 

who entered a degree program in a specified 

year of entry (cohort year) and completed the 

program within any given year thereafter; these 

rates are subject to change as more students 

complete their programs.
37

Graduate Graduation Rates (Full-time Only)

MSSI MSTI

81% 84% 66% 73%

Graduate Graduation Rates (All Students)

MSSI MSTI

65% 69% 70% 76%

Normal Completion Year of Entry

GRADUATION RATES

Part-Time Full-Time

42% 79%

Graduation rates for full‐time students who began pursuing a degree in fall 

2015 and part‐time students who began pursuing a degree in fall 2013.

BSI

89% 100%

Undergraduate Graduation Rates

Normal

Completion

Actual

Completion
38

THE MEASURE OF OUR SUCCESS

Our truest measure of success is the success 

of our graduates. The education at NIU 

prepares our students to achieve strategic 

leadership within the professions of 

intelligence and national security. However, 

we know that the success of our alumni 

reaches far beyond the IC.

NIU’s First Member of Congress!

Michael Gallagher ‘10 became NIU’s 

first member of Congress in January 

2017. He was elected to represent the 8th 

District of Wisconsin in the U.S. House of 

Representatives on November 8, 2017.

NIU’s Highest Ranking 

Civilian Alumnus Retires

NSA Deputy Director, Richard Ledgett ’92, 

retired in April 2017 after 29 years at the 

Agency. He has been interviewed by major 

U.S. media outlets and featured in several 

prominent newspapers discussing, among 

other things, his leadership role in the task 

force responsible for assessing and reacting to 

the Snowden leaks. Mr. Ledgett returned to his 

intelligence alma mater in March 2016, when 

he addressed NIU students and faculty as the 

featured speaker in the weekly President’s 

Lecture Series.

Lieutenant General Robert P. Ashley, 

Jr. appointed the next Director, DIA

The Senate confirmed Lieutenant General 

Robert P. Ashley, Jr. ‘90 for reappointment to 

rank of Lieutenant General and assignment as 

Director, DIA on August 3, 2017.

BUILDING A VIBRANT 

ALUMNI NETWORK

In 2016‐17, there were more alumni events in 

more places than in any previous year since the 

alumni office was created in 2011. The events 

featured an incredibly rich mix of current and 

former IC leaders as keynote speakers, resulting 

in greater awareness of NIU by senior leaders 

and key stakeholders, and provided secondto‐none networking opportunities for alumni, 

students, and faculty. Most of the events were 

accomplished in partnership with the newlycreated alumni association and a growing 

number of regional alumni networks.

As a result of the continued effort to build 

a vibrant campus community, the alumni 

association has seen a ten‐fold increase in 

membership since its establishment and the 

number of alumni reconnecting with the 

university continues to grow.

2017 HIGHLIGHTS

Alumni in the greater Boston‐area

made school history this year as the first NIU 

regional alumni network, an effort that was led 

by two New Hampshire‐based alumni, Army 

Reserve COL Ron Corsetti ’06 and CAPT Jim 

Spotts ’01, USCG (ret). Working with the NIU 

Alumni Office to solicit interest in forming a 

network, nearly two dozen alumni from Rhode 

Island to Maine and from Boston to Amherst 

made contact with Corsetti and Spotts. They 

held an inaugural networking event in early 

October 2016 and have since held three other 

events: a guided tour of the Museum of WWII 

in Natick, MA, a social/professional event in 

Lexington, MA in June, and a book-signing 

in Portsmouth, NH in August with plans for a 

2nd annual Networking event in October.

Pictured left: A B17 Pilot (seated with 

American flag) regales alumni with stories of 

participation in day raids over Germany in 

WWII. Inset: (left to right) Dan Huelsman 

’09, Tom Van Wagner ’94, Jim Spotts ’01, and 

museum docent Mark Galuzzo.
39
40

Service to Alma Mater: Two 

Huntsville-area Senior Alumni 

Promote NIU at Joint Duty Fair!

Army Material Command Senior Executive 

Kathy Coviello ’04 and former Assistant 

Director of FBI Intelligence Rafael “Jorge” 

Garcia ’02 are working to establish an alumni 

network in the Huntsville, AL area. In April, 

they staffed an NIU booth at a joint duty fair 

at Redstone Arsenal, AL, and have hosted 

two networking dinners, including one with 

former DIA Director LTG Ron Burgess in 

September 2017. Thank you to these two 

“alumni ambassadors” for giving their time and 

energy to promote NIU to audiences outside 

the Beltway. 

NIU Alumni Jorge Garcia ’02 and Kathy Coviello 

‘04 promote NIU at a Joint Duty Fair in Huntsville, 

AL on April 20, 2017.
41

23 May 2017: Brian Bataille '97, shown third from left, stands with 

Molesworth-based alumni after a great dinner in Cambridgeshire, 

UK, the first OCONUS alumni event yet!

In May 2017, UK-based alumni participated in the first 

NIU alumni event in Europe, a “from Generation-toGeneration” dinner at an award-winning pub in Cambridgeshire. 

In Tampa, FL, a 1995 alumnus took the first step of reaching out to 

local alumni as he works to establish an NIU network near the NIU 

Southern Academic Center. 

Reunion 2017 Provides Alumni a First 

Peek at the New Campus! 

On Friday, June 23, NIU partnered with the Alumni Association to hold 

a half-day reunion event at the new campus in Bethesda, MD. The event 

attracted a record crowd of alumni from the classes of the 1960s, 1970s, 

1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, as well as more than two dozen former 

faculty! The reunion agenda included a tasty welcome reception, remarks 

by the current and incoming NIU Presidents, a guided tour of the new 

campus, a “state of the Alumni Association” address by Alumni President 

Harry Petrey ‘12/’13, and a networking reception to cap the day. 
42

NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE UNIVERSITY

Founded 1962

Accreditation

The National Intelligence University is 

accredited by the Middle States Commission 

on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, 

Philadelphia, PA 19104 (267-284-5000). 

Middle States Commission on Higher 

Education is an institutional accrediting 

agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary 

of Education and the Council for Higher 

Education Accreditation.

NIU’s Joint Professional Military Education 

(JPME) program is approved by the Chairman 

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, allowing selected, 

qualified military officers to receive JPME 

I credit after completion of a designated 

program of study concurrent with the NIU 

master’s degree.

Degrees

Bachelor of Science in Intelligence (BSI)

Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence (MSSI)

Master of Science and Technology 

Intelligence (MSTI)

Main Campus 

Intelligence Community Campus in Bethesda, 

MD (ICC-B)

Academic Centers (AY 2016-17)

NIU Academic Center at the National 

Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

NIU Academic Center at the National Security 

Agency, Fort Meade, MD

NIU European Academic Center, 

Molesworth, UK

NIU Quantico Academic Center, Quantico, VA

NIU Southern Academic Center, MacDill 

AFB, FL

University Centers

Center for Strategic Intelligence Research

Library

The library’s holdings comprise over 70,000 

volumes, 536 worldwide periodicals and 

journals, 46 U.S. and foreign newspapers, 31 

commercial research databases, and numerous 

historical collections, DVDs, audio books, and 

an extensive map room, all with an emphasis 

on global issues such as terrorism, international 

political science, military and naval science, 

intelligence, science and technology, and history.

The Library made significant additions to its 

special collections, including:

• Paul Kozemchak’s donation of his 

personal holding forming the basis for the 

Kozemchak S&T Collection and Reading 

Room at the ICC-B Campus

National Intelligence Press

The National Intelligence Press publishes the 

work of faculty, students, research fellows, and 

intelligence professionals on topics of concern 

to the Intelligence Community and U.S. 

Government. 

Financial Resources (AY 2016-17)

NIU’s financial planning is based on the 

Intelligence, Planning, Programming, Budgeting, 

and Execution system, which operates on a 

6-year cycle. DIA, in conjunction with the ODNI, 

provides financial resources to the University. The 

requirements are submitted and funded through 

the General Defense Intelligence Program.

In accordance with DoD Instruction (DoDI) 

3305.01, NIU continues to expand its 
43

educational, research, and outreach mission 

and responsibilities while both evolving as a 

service of common concern to the IC and also 

meeting the demand of its customers. Acting 

on DoDI 3305.01 and the University’s Strategic 

Plan, the University has programmed funding 

for fiscal years (FYs) 2018 and 2019 in order to 

maintain IC academic offerings with current 

levels of faculty, staff, and administrative 

support. In FY 2017, NIU was able to sustain 

all of the educational research and outreach 

goals and achievements implemented with 

the FY 2017 budget. 

Board of Visitors (AY 2016-17)

Maureen A. Baginski, Chairperson

Thad W. Allen, ADM, USCG (Ret.)

Arden L. Bement, Jr., PhD

Kevin J. Cosgriff, VADM, 

USN (Ret.) (2009-2016)

Joan A. Dempsey

Joann P. DiGennaro, JD (2012-2016)

John C. Gannon, CAPT, USN (Ret.), PhD

Chris Inglis, Brig Gen, USANG (Ret.)

Gilman Louie

Joanne O’Rourke Isham

Harvey Rishikof, JD

Timothy Sands, PhD

Deborah Kircher, ex officio member

Glenn A. Gaffney, ex officio member

Francis X. Taylor, Brig Gen, USAF (Ret.), 

nominated as ex officio member 

President

J. Scott Cameron, PhD (2017 - Present)

RADM David R. Ellison, U.S. Navy (Ret.), 

PhD (2009-2017)

Executive Vice President and Provost

Susan Studds, PhD


www.ni-u.edu