TAMPA, FLORIDA (January 3, 2024) – The Global and National Security Institute (GNSI) at the University of South Florida (USF) is excited to announce the creation of its GNSI Fellows Program, a growing and evolving group of highly successful thought leaders and experts from a mixture of academics, practitioners and industry professionals who share GNSI's vision of becoming an internationally recognized thought leader across the global and national security environment.
Global and national security is a strategic area of focus for USF, an integral component of the university's long-term plan for success. GNSI leads that strategic effort, operating at the boundary of technology and policy, focusing on innovative science and technology, human dynamics and social behavior, and cybersecurity. This new Fellows Program will bolster USF's already compelling research capabilities.
GNSI will have a mixture of resident and non-resident fellows drawn from academia, government, and industry.
The GNSI Fellows Program is launching initially with two important groups: Faculty Senior Fellows and Non-Resident Senior Fellows. Eventually, the program will also include Resident Fellows and Distinguished Fellows. The program is kicking off, however, with two vital groups, according to GNSI Academic Director David Oakley, PhD.
"The world is complex and dynamic, and no organization has the in-house expertise required to properly evaluate and appreciate this complexity," said Oakley. "These Fellows are important members of the GNSI team, as they'll expand our expertise and diversity – essential components for nurturing the global understanding necessary for GNSI to provide actionable solutions to 21st-century security challenges."
As the program was being developed, it was essential for the group to encompass as many diverse lines of thinking, insights and experiences as possible. Modern security challenges require decision-makers to consider problems and solutions they've never before encountered, from industries and disciplines previously considered irrelevant. The Fellows Program has been created to adapt and scale with future security challenges.
The program will continue to grow, expanding its roster across all of the groups.
Eventually, the GNSI Professional Military Education (PME) program will contribute
to the program, as well.
"GNSI will have a mixture of resident and non-resident fellows drawn from academia,
government, and industry. In the fall of 2025, GNSI will welcome its first cohort
of military officers. These military officers will accomplish their professional military
education through a civilian academic broadening experience. The military Fellows
will include mid and senior-level officers studying and researching security-related
topics while engaging with local, state, national, and global security communities.
This year, the program will add two Senior Research Fellows and two Research Fellows
as part of a new Resident Fellows group, and by the end of 2025, it will also include a former ambassador and a former USAID executive.
The non-resident fellows program will include a mixture of former executive-level
practitioners, accomplished scholars, and younger scholars/professionals."
See the Fellows Program webpage here.
Here are the initial members of the GNSI Fellows Program:
GNSI Faculty senior fellows
- Manish Agrawal, PhD
Professor, Muma College of Business - Norma Alcantar, PhD
Professor, Associate Dean for Research, Department of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering - Golfo Alexopoulos, PhD
Professor and Director of the Institute for Russian, European, and Eurasian Studies - Randy Borum, PhD
Director of the School of Information (iSchool), and Director of Intelligence and National Security Studies - George Burruss, PhD
Professor and Associate Chair, Criminology
Founder, Cybercrime Interdisciplinary Behavioral Research Laboratory - Adib Farhadi, PhD
Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict, Director of the Executive Education Program - John Licato, PhD
Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering
Founder/Director, Advancing Machine and Human Reasoning (AMHR) Lab - Anthony Masys, CD, PhD
Associate Professor, College of Public Health - Amber Mehmood, MBBS, MPH, FCPS
Associate Professor, College of Public Health - Stephen Neely, PhD
Associate Professor and Director, MPA Program, College of Arts and Sciences - Zacharias Pieri, PhD
Associate Professor, International Relations and Security Studies - Jongseok Woo, PhD
Associate Professor, Political Science, School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies
GNSI Non-resident senior fellows
- Andrew Borene
Executive Director, Flashpoint National Security Systems - Robert Burrell, PhD
Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) - Carolyne Davidson
Associate Dean, Administration and Outreach, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University - Michael Goodman, PhD
Director, King's Centre for the Study of Intelligence - Mark Grzegorzewski, PhD
Associate Professor of Cybersecurity, Embry-Riddle University - Andrew Hammond, PhD
Historian and Curator, International Spy Museum, Host of Spycast - Chris Hunter
Chief Legal Officer, IWP Family Office - Thomas A Marks, PhD
Distinguished Professor & Major General Edward G. Lansdale Chair of Irregular Warfare Stratego - Christopher Marsh, PhD
Associate Professor, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University and Editor-in-Chief, InterPopulum - Jennifer McArdle, PhD
Senior Director, Futures, CAE USA - Celestino Perez, PhD
Chair of Executive Leadership and Director of Carlisle Scholars, Army War College - Susan Perlman, PhD
Historian, Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies - Jeff Rogg, PhD
Associate Professor, Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) - Frank Sobchak, PhD
Chair of Irregular Warfare Studies, USMA Modern War Institute - David Ucko, PhD
Irregular Warfare expert, College of International Security, Affairs, National Defense University - Diane Zorri, PhD
Associate Professor at National Defense College of the Emirates