The National Security Higher Education Advisory Board (NSHEAB) was created by

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI)

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

Robert S. Mueller III Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer and government official who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York U ...

on December 15, 2005. Operated by the FBI and paneled by approximately 20 American

university president A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

s and

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

s, the expressed purpose of the board is "to foster outreach and to promote understanding between

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

and the

." The board also facilitates communication between universities and federal authorities on "national priorities pertaining to terrorism, counterintelligence, and homeland security."

Aims

Since its creation NSHEAB has brought university and FBI officials together to discuss

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...

, bioterrorism, threats to university research facilities, and "the promotion of strategic national security partnerships with academia nthe United States." NSHEAB has also been a forum within which

Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) is an organization within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence responsible for leading research to overcome difficult challenges relevant to the United States Intellige ...

(IARPA) has encouraged universities to engage in "high-risk/high-payoff" research intended to "provide the United States with an overwhelming intelligence advantage over future adversaries." A stated goal of NSHEAB is to prevent the theft of sensitive research conducted at American universities. Some other topics discussed at NSHEAB meetings have included cyber security, campus shootings, and export regulations, as well as domestic terrorism. NSHEAB meets approximately three times yearly. Some meetings have included briefings by invited speakers from other federal agencies, such as the

Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) leads national counterintelligence (CI) for the United States government. It is part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). History The position of Natio ...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

, the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

, the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

, the

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

, and the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

. NSHEAB is currently chaired by Lou Anna K. Simon, president of

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. Notable members of NSHEAB include or have included former

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...

Robert Gates, MIT president Susan Hockfield,

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos, and

U.C. Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

chancellor

Linda P.B. Katehi Linda Pisti Basile Katehi-Tseregounis (born January 30, 1954) is a Greek-American engineering professor and former university administrator. Katehi was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2006) for contributions to three-di ...

Criticism

Some academics have expressed concern over the collaboration between FBI and university officials due to the agency's past investigations of individuals in the academic community in the 1960s. NSHEAB's work and the increased cooperation between federal authorities and academia is facilitated by the political framework brought about by the

war on terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...

.Temple-Raston, Dina, "FBI and Universities Unite to Fight Terror," NPR, November 7, 2007

References

{{reflist, 30em United States federal boards, commissions, and committees United States intelligence agencies Higher education in the United States