NOVA is excited to announce that our own Cybersecurity Professor Kwabena Konadu is among one of 12 recipients of Virginia’s ‘2022 Outstanding Faculty Awards.’  The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and Dominion Energy jointly announced the award recipients yesterday recognizing exceptional faculty at Virginia’s institutions of higher learning who exemplify the highest standards of teaching, scholarship and service. Each recipient received a $7,500 award from Dominion Energy at an in-person ceremony on March 1, 2022.

Between 1993 and 2019, a total of 14 NOVA faculty have received the prestigious SCHEV ‘Outstanding Faculty Award’, more than any other public or private college or university in Virginia.

“It is a humbling and great experience to receive this award so I can continue to do what I do,” said Konadu. “I am really speechless, this is amazing. It is such an honor. I am excited to be a recipient. I really want to dedicate this to my students who always inspire me, and this is the reason why I work so hard.”

Konadu came to the United States 31 years ago at age 14. He says he could barely speak or write English, and he initially failed in school. He says his teachers encouraged him to press on, and he is grateful for their persistence, which led to his achievements.

“I have been called to serve and to lead with passion and purpose – to help bring up the next generation of cybersecurity professionals who will help protect and defend our nation’s infrastructure and economy. My students receive practical applications in a theoretical environment, which helps close the equity gaps in this sector.”

Konadu came to NOVA from a plethora of private sector experiences, and he continues to offer NOVA cybersecurity students real-world experiences. From 2002 to 2018, he worked as a space hardware engineer, network engineer and systems engineer for many different companies. In 2008, he began teaching non-credit workforce courses for NOVA. He became an adjunct professor in 2014 and was hired as a full-time faculty member in 2018. Before joining NOVA, Konadu served as an adjunct professor at George Washington University.

Currently, Konadu is a professor of computer science at the Woodbridge campus and he is the college-wide program head of cybersecurity and cloud computing. He teaches courses in cybersecurity, cloud computing and information technology. He earned a bachelor’s of science in electrical engineering and a master’s of science in telecommunications networks at George Mason University. He also holds a degree in physics from Washington College (Chestertown, Md.). Additionally, he was a part of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and inducted into the National Society of Black Engineers during his years of study.

With a student-centered approach to teaching that emphasizes practical applications for real-world problems, he is consistently rated highly in student evaluations. Konadu also coaches the ‘NOVA Cyber Sports Team,’ which under his guidance has become the only community college team to make it to the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition’s regional qualifying round finals.

NOVA congratulates the other nominees and recipients of the SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award for their service and dedication to student success.

The other 11 recipients in Virginia are:

• Liz Ackley, Roanoke College
• Leah Adams, George Mason University (Rising Star)
• Jay Albanese, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Lauren K. Alleyne, James Madison University,
• Michelle Doll, Virginia Commonwealth University (Rising Star)
• Roger Ekrich, Virginia Tech
• Thomas M. Geary, Tidewater Community College
• Michael C. Leopold, University of Richmond
• Erica J. Lewis, James Madison University
• Linsey C. Marr, Virginia Tech
• Amanda Shehu, George Mason University

For media questions regarding NOVA, please contact Hoang Nguyen, public information officer at hdnguyen@nvcc.edu. For media questions regarding SCHEV and the Outstanding Faculty Award process, please contact Laura Baliles Osberger, senior associate for communications at lauraosberger@schev.edu.

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Northern Virginia Community College is the largest public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth of Virginia and one of America's largest community colleges. NOVA enrolls more than 75,000 students at its six campuses in Alexandria, Annandale, Loudoun, Manassas, Springfield and Woodbridge, and through NOVA Online. For more information about NOVA and its programs or services, call 703-323-3000 or visit the College's Web site, www.nvcc.edu

 

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is the state’s coordinating agency for higher education. With Pathways to Opportunity: The Virginia Plan for Higher Education, SCHEV is dedicated to making Virginia the best state for education by 2030. For more on this statewide strategic plan, visit schev.edu/TheVirginiaPlan.