I love Arkansas. And I love Little Rock. I have been vocal and active in promoting Little Rock – not just because it’s been my home for decades, but because our capital city serves all of Arkansas. As I like to say, “As goes our capital city, so goes our state.” Little Rock is the center of government, finance, health care and media, and is the geographical center of the state. For Arkansas to be its best, Little Rock must thrive and serve every part of the state.
I have been blessed over the course of my life with opportunities to travel to some of the world’s greatest cities. Whether we are talking about a vibrant, global metropolis or an up-and-coming American city, each has its own unique flavor. But there are some elements that are consistent: In all thriving cities, you will find cultural assets such as public art, museums, and performance venues, as well as dynamic architecture and thriving businesses.
In these cities, you will also find vibrant and thriving institutions of higher learning. These citadels of knowledge drive innovation and thought, and they infuse life into metropolitan centers. As thriving cities are defined by their structural, educational, commercial, and cultural cornerstones, thriving universities are defined by their commitment to excellence in specific disciplines and areas of research.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has great potential as a pillar of higher education, not just in Little Rock and central Arkansas, but statewide, nationally, and beyond. In the past few years, UA-Little Rock has focused its attention and resources on cybersecurity. Recently, I committed $1 million in grant funds to support the establishment of the university’s Cyberspace Operations Research and Education (CORE) Center, which will serve as a cybersecurity training hub and will benefit Arkansas’s companies, government agencies, and citizens.
Beyond UA-Little Rock, cybersecurity education and training provide opportunities to grow jobs for Arkansans who are seeking a workforce training certification or a formal education leading to a degree.
I was eager to support UA-Little Rock’s CORE Center because cybersecurity is a critical, rapidly developing field. There is space for a university to plant its flag and say, “We are determined to be elite in this area.” When universities act with intentionality and purpose and embrace a meaningful identity, they lift the community up around them.
More than 28 years in the U.S. Army has taught me that we face as many or more threats to our national security from hackers and cyberterrorists than we do from the conventional military forces of our adversaries. Because of this, I have prioritized cybersecurity as Attorney General.
This past fall, I hosted a two-day Cybersecurity Summit, which brought 1,700 stakeholders from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines together to learn and share ideas about how we can protect ourselves, our families, and our resources. The interest in and energy behind the summit showed that Arkansas is committed to excellence in cybersecurity, and UA-Little Rock will help lead the way in the years to come.
The CORE Center will open doors for more collaboration with federal national security agencies and new collaboration with our greatest private sector partners around the state from Bentonville to El Dorado and from Jonesboro to Texarkana. It will make all of Arkansas safer and more secure, and it will continue to build Little Rock’s momentum as an up-and-coming city and a wonderful place to live and raise a family.
I am proud to be part of the great things happening at UA-Little Rock, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for the CORE Center.
Editor’s note: Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin was elected to office in November 2022. He has also served as Lt. Governor and U.S. Congressman. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
