CIA Deputy Director David Cohen visits AUC with plans to recruit students and provide insight into careers with the agency.
Atlanta – Entering the workforce for college graduates can be a daunting task without internships and networking. The Atlanta University Center Consortium seeks to change that for Atlanta University Center students offering opportunities for both from the Central Intelligence Agency.
The organization hosted David Cohen, Deputy Director for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) seeking to partner with the AUCC’s Dual Degree Engineering Program and Data Science Initiative. Cohen is the 5th and 8th Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and also worked at the U.S. Treasury Department and as an attorney in private practice.
Cohen jumped right in starting the day with briefings on the AUC Consortium from Dr. Said Sewell, Director of Academics, Research and Student Success. Briefings continued with Dr. Talitha Washington, Director of the Data Science Initiative and by Dr. Christopher Ellis, Program Manager, Dual Degree Engineering Program and Career Services.
More than 60 students from Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College were invited to a forum with Cohen and his team in the Robert Woodruff Library discussing career opportunities and relevant coursework. Also, while in the AUC, Cohen visited a Computer Science class at Spelman College taught by a fellow member of the CIA and discussed their work and relation to positions within the agency.
“As the United States seeks to maintain its global competitiveness by devoting more attention to science, technology, engineering, and math areas, it is critically important that the country not only recognizes the importance of diversity, but invest in it as well,” Dr. Sewell said.
Goals for the visit were to partner with the Atlanta University Center Consortium, specifically the Dual Degree Engineering Program and the Data Science Initiative and learn more about the extraordinary work taking place across the AUC campuses, and amplify the CIA’s desire to recruit top African-American students for careers with the agency.
“We are pleased the CIA, especially David and his team, have chosen to invest in the development of African-American engineers and data scientists. This partnership with the CIA will invest resources and establish faculty research opportunities and a career pipeline for students with the agency,” Dr. Sewell continued.
AUCC’s DDEP is the oldest dual degree engineering program in the nation and has matriculated more than 4,000 students to date. For more information about AUCC’s DDEP program, find out more here: https://aucenter.edu/ddep/
The AUC DSI is committed to advancing data science by supporting students and faculty to engage with external stakeholders to develop innovations in research, best practices, and educational activities.For more information about AUCC’s Data Institute, find out more here: https://datascience.aucenter.edu
**Photo: AUC students ask questions at an AUCC event hosting David Cohen, Deputy Director for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The question-and-answer session allowed students to learn more about careers within the agency.
