BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR) – Virginia Tech was awarded the Jack Donnelly Award for excellence in counterintelligence by the U.S. Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.
On Friday, the director of the DCSA and U.S. Senator Mark Warner was in Blacksburg to present the award to Virginia Tech President Tim Sands.
More than 13,000 government agencies, private contractors, and universities that have security clearance are eligible for the award but no more than five are recognized each year.
Virginia Tech won the award one other time, in 2019, but has won the DCSA’s other premier award for excellence in security on two occasions as well.
“Because they’ve won this award a couple of times, frankly they have been one of the leaders in getting it right,” said Senator Warner. “A lot of other universities could learn from Tech.”
The award is bestowed annually to the institutions that most effectively support and reinforce federal security efforts.
“It means that they’ve got a solid program,” said DCSA Director David Cattler. “They know what they’re doing. They’re training the professors, their research security officers, even students from time to time on what proper security procedures are.”
Senator Warner is the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and said that the world is experiencing a change in the way national security is looked at.
“Increasingly in the 21st century, national security means who’s going to win the technology battle,” he said. “Who’s going to win the battle around AI or quantum computing or who’s going to have the most advanced telecom networks or satellite systems.”
The award does not include a monetary component, but Cattler said that the recognition alone is a powerful tool for bringing in and retaining the top talent in counterintelligence and reinforcing the security practices in place.
“Keep in mind that companies like Lockheed Martin win this award,” Cattler said. “Boeing wins this award. Small companies can win this award too and universities like Virginia Tech.”