The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been awarded a $1.86 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to create a regional center of excellence in intelligence studies.
UNC’s primary partner is the Triangle Institute for Security Studies (TISS). The award will be shared among UNC and its three TISS partners: Duke University, North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University.
The focus of the TISS Center for Intelligence and Security Studies will be to develop new courses that will provide a deeper understanding of the intelligence process and its relevance to security. These courses will be integrated into existing educational programs, in particular UNC’s curriculum in peace, war and defense in the College of Arts and Sciences.
UNC will hire a new faculty member beginning in academic year 2016-2017. The grant will also support graduate student assistantships and provide funding for extracurricular activities, such as a speakers’ series, experiential education, travel and an annual colloquium.
“The development of this program in intelligence and security studies will educate a generation of young scholars who will be well placed to assess the changing intelligence and security challenges of the day,” said Wayne Lee, professor and chair of the curriculum in peace, war and defense. “It will also encourage rigorous public discussion of this crucial, but often poorly understood, profession.”
