UA Little Rock broadens reach of CORE Cybersecurity Clinic
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Cyberspace Operations Research and Education (CORE) Center is expanding its Cybersecurity Clinic through the Cyber Learning Network (CLN), increasing hands-on training for students and offering cybersecurity services to more Arkansas communities.
The CLN brings together students and faculty from 11 colleges and universities to deliver assessments and tailored recommendations for organizations that lack dedicated security staff. CORE’s teams evaluate systems, identify vulnerabilities and outline practical steps to reduce risk for local entities that include small nonprofits, school districts, health clinics, rural utilities and small businesses.
“Every partner site is another place where our students get to apply what they’re learning to a real problem with real stakes,” said Dr. Sandra Leiterman, director of cybersecurity education and outreach.
What this expansion means for Arkansas
By extending the clinic, UA Little Rock aims to make cybersecurity expertise available where it is most scarce and where cyber threats can have outsized effects. Smaller organizations often cannot afford commercial risk assessments or enterprise security programs; the CORE teams provide free or low-cost assessments and actionable guidance to strengthen defenses.
- Hands-on training: Students gain practical experience working on live problems alongside faculty experts.
- Community benefit: Rural and under-resourced organizations receive prioritized cybersecurity attention.
- Statewide collaboration: The CLN pools expertise from multiple institutions to extend services beyond any single campus.
New partner sites and rollout
The CORE Clinic will expand this fall to include the following partner campuses:
| Partner campus | Region |
|---|---|
| Ouachita Baptist University | Arkadelphia |
| University of Arkansas Community College at Hope–Texarkana | Southwest Arkansas |
| North Arkansas College of the University of Arkansas | North Arkansas |
The model leans on distributed capacity: as each partner site joins, students encounter real-world problems and communities gain services that would otherwise be out of reach. For counties across Arkansas, that can mean better protection for critical local services and fewer disruptions when cyber incidents occur.
For Little Rock, the expansion reinforces UA Little Rock’s role as a statewide cybersecurity hub, connecting the university’s academic programs to workforce development and public-service needs. As threats evolve, the CORE Clinic’s combination of training and outreach aims to bolster resilience in places that have been most vulnerable.
