App State Chancellor’s Innovation Scholars aim to boost Western NC cybersecurity, trades workforce
App State Chancellor’s Innovation Scholars aim to boost Western NC cybersecurity, trades workforce
https://today.appstate.edu/2026/06/23/innovation-scholars
Publish Date: 2026-06-23 10:14:00
Source Domain: today.appstate.edu
BOONE, N.C. — Two Appalachian State University projects designed to strengthen Western North Carolina’s building trades workforce and cyber defenses have been selected to receive funding support through the university’s 2026 Chancellor’s Innovation Scholars Program. The faculty-led initiatives will give App State students hands-on experience protecting small businesses from cyberattacks and the opportunity to explore career options in the trades.
“Our Chancellor’s Innovation Scholars are turning campus expertise into solutions that will help strengthen our communities and build a stronger, more secure future for our region.”
App State Chancellor Heather Norris
The projects:
- The Western North Carolina Cyber Resilience Initiative is a Hickory-based cybersecurity clinic aimed at improving cybersecurity readiness for small businesses while supporting underserved areas. Led by Christopher W. Taylor ’09 ’11, practitioner-in-residence in the Department of Computer Information Systems in App State’s Walker College of Business, the initiative will receive $24,815 in Chancellor’s Innovation Scholars Program funding over the next three years. Taylor was recently honored with the Hickory Innovation Award for his work advancing cybersecurity at App State.
- The Trades Pathways Initiative, supported by a $25,000 Chancellor’s Innovation grant and led by App State associate professor Dr. Andrew Windham, will help bolster workforce development in partnership with myFutureNC, with a focus on field experience pathways in the skilled building trades. A nonprofit organization, myFutureNC is spearheading efforts to achieve the statewide goal of having 2 million North Carolinians aged 25–44 hold a postsecondary degree or credential by 2030. The project team includes Dr. Jamie Russell, director of the Appalachian Energy Center; Dr. James Beeler, executive director of the Office of Rural Promise; and Jason Miller, associate dean…
