Rising to the Future

First it was the new lights and then the words “Gannon University.” Slowly, the new look of the Institute for Health and Cyber Knowledge, or I-HACK, has taken shape. The building’s new entrance is almost done, capping an exterior transformation of a former Verizon call center into a cornerstone of Erie’s renaissance as a regional technology center.

But the real work is going on inside. A feverish hive of workers has expanded the first-floor lobby that features a glass-enclosed, student gathering space. They also installed an iconic steel-framed staircase that extends through to the second and third floors.

The second-floor Pierre McCormick Cyber Learning Center – the academic heart of I-HACK – features classrooms and open collaborative spaces. In early November, workers were bringing shape to the Cyber Attack Lab, Cyber Defense Lab, and Cyber Innovation Lab, where students will learn to protect networks, databases and organizations from cyberattacks.

These floors are expected to open at the start of the Spring 2021 semester.

Construction has begun on the third floor’s “Hatchery.” This is where, as early as the end of the spring semester, faculty and students will be working together with industry partners on real-world projects, enhancing the culture of innovation at Gannon and in Erie.

Planning is well underway for I-HACK’s third phase, which includes developing the building’s fourth and fifth floors into commercial space and to house cyber businesses, creating new jobs and workforce development opportunities for the region. This should be complete in Spring 2022.

But the building is only the framework for the academic programing that will happen inside. New programs that will be housed in I-HACK starting in Spring 2021 include undergraduate degrees in cybersecurity and cyber engineering, and online graduate certificate programs in cybersecurity essentials and information systems security.

Further plans to leverage health care, engineering and computing programs with I-HACK facilities and resources are being developed.

In addition, Gannon announced its first partnerships in I-HACK this year.

Extreme Networks – a leading provider of network infrastructure equipment and services for global enterprises, data centers and service providers – became the first company to commit to being housed in the Hatchery.

Representatives from Extreme Networks and Networking Technologies joined Gannon to announce a new partnership in I-HACK.

Walter Iwanenko, Ph.D., Gannon’s provost and vice president for student experience, said working with “Extreme Networks’ level of expertise is a powerful and incredible opportunity.”

And for good reason. The partnership will elevate the delivery of the University’s newest undergraduate engineering and computing programs by embedding technical certification and training curriculum into Gannon’s existing curriculum beginning in 2021.

As a result, students will gain a competitive edge for their careers by earning industry certifications as they complete their coursework – all at no additional cost.

Extreme will also operate a regional training center in the Hatchery to train local and regional professionals. Gannon faculty can become certified Extreme Instructors and deliver training.

Tim NeCastro ’83, president and CEO of Erie Insurance, called the Hatchery the “birthplace of big and bold ideas and a place where resources and meaningful connections come together to turn ideas into reality.” He said that when his company announced a $2 million partnership with Gannon in July.

Keith Taylor, Ph.D., Gannon president, leads Tim NeCastro ’83, president and CEO of Erie Insurance, on a tour of I-HACK.

The collaboration will lead to the Erie Insurance IDEA Lab, where Erie Insurance employees will work with Gannon students, faculty and other future corporate and research partners on projects that will impact the community. Erie Insurance will provide education, research and industry experiences for specific workforce development and student employment during their academic years and even following graduation.

In return, Gannon will provide consulting services to Erie Insurance to support its innovation and training needs, establishing the $28 million I-HACK as a powerful community asset for economic development.

“Gannon is proud to be a driving force for innovation in downtown Erie,” said Gannon President Keith Taylor, Ph.D. “The University is moving quickly to create a community asset that will be a catalyst for Erie's economic transformation and workforce training ground for design, integration and protection of the intelligent systems of tomorrow.”