Faculty

His research interests include cyber and physical security, Internet of Things, Internet of Medical Things, blockchain technology, cloud computing, usable security, security recommendation systems, and security metrics. His publications have appeared in several refereed publications in Springer Cluster Computing, IEEE Access, Elsevier IoT Journals among other Journals and presented papers at various IEEE conferences and served as a reviewer in some journals, including IEEE Transaction on Cloud Computing.

His research interests include information security, E-commerce, and executive decision support systems. His publications have appeared in Journal of Global Information Management, Information Systems Management, Journal of Internet Commerce, Communications of the ACM, Decision Support Systems, Journal of Computer Information Systems, Systems Development Management, among other journals.

Her research interests are in Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality in Education, New Technologies and Innovation, Human Computer Interaction, Big Data and Data Analytics. Dr. Collen advises the St. Cloud State University Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS) student chapter and hosts the Bi-annual Cyber Security Awareness Week events including digital forensics lab tool demonstrations, cyber security awareness game activities, student research and cyber security industry professional leader’s presentations.

Professor Farra joined the Department of Information Systems in the Fall of 2019. His research interests are in cloud security, artificial Intelligence, information privacy, social engineering, and security data analytics. He worked as a software engineer and solutions architect in the debt buying industry. Professor Farra has published various papers related to computer and data security and information privacy.

His research interests are in information assurance and security. He has taught numerous courses related to security and has published many papers. Herath is a senior member of the IEEE. Together with other faculty members in the Department of Information Systems, Herath initiated and helped develop the St. Cloud State Center for Information Assurance and information assurance graduate program. He has been organizing the annual computer security conference series at St. Cloud State since 2002.

Keller joined the Cybersecurity program in the Fall of 2021, and along with other faculty members retooled the program to reflect and address today’s cybersecurity challenges.  Prior to joining SCSU, he was a co-PI for the CyberCorps scholarship program at SCSU.  Previously he taught Enterprise Computing for 11 years at Century College, and prior to that he taught Cybersecurity and Networking at Inver Hills Community College for 4 years.  He has been in the Information Technology field for over 35 years and has acquired extensive work experience in the data security arena as an Information Technology Auditor at 3M.  In addition, he worked as a programmer/analyst, and a systems administrator during his 3M tenure.  He served in the U.S. Army as a non-commissioned officer for four years.  Currently, he teaches courses in operating systems, system administration, network administration, security fundamentals and laws, OSI layer security, Python programming, and cryptography.

Dr. Akalanka B. Mailewa, an Associate Professor at St. Cloud State University in Computer Science and Cybersecurity, merges teaching passion with cybersecurity expertise, guiding future digital defenders. With rich academic background and industry certifications, including multiple Microsoft ones like MCP, MCTS, MCSA, MCITP, MCSE, and MCSE-Security, alongside RHCT and CCNA, he stays updated on networking and system administration. As a Palo-Alto Networks Authorized Cybersecurity Academy Instructor, he holds CIC and CPC certifications, strengthening his cybersecurity teaching prowess. Dr. Mailewa not only educates but also researches extensively, contributing to cybersecurity understanding and solutions in areas like network security, cryptography, threat detection, and cyber defense strategies. Beyond academia, he engages in professional development and community outreach, earning recognition as a leader in cybersecurity, inspiring others to excel. Dr. Mailewa's multidimensional expertise and steadfast commitment to cybersecurity education and research position him as a significant figure shaping the field's future, safeguarding digital ecosystems.

Her research interest includes parallel computation, neural network, and computer security. Her major research and publications are neural computation in Self-Organizing Maps. She published many papers in journals and conference proceedings including IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks. She has been teaching computer security related classes in our programs.

Laxman graduated from MSIA in 2024. He embarked on his MSIA journey at Herberger Business School (HBS), SCSU in the spring of 2023. During his tenure, he served as a Graduate Assistant at the BCRL/Digital Forensics Lab from August 2023 to December 2023. Subsequently, he continued his role as a Graduate Assistant at the Department of Information Systems from January 2024 to May 2024. Puri holds a European bachelor’s degree in computer science and IT from Spoleczna Akademia Nauk (University of Social Sciences), Poland. Prior to pursuing his Master's, he gained experience in the cybersecurity sector, specializing in Payment Card Industry compliance assessment fields.

Dr. Changsoo Sohn joined the IS Department in the Fall of 2000. Between 2003 and 2006, he served as associate dean of graduate school of Business Administration at The Catholic University of Korea. His main research interests are business analytics and e-service quality management. His research was published in many journals and conference proceedings. Also, he is a recipient of “Gopal Kanji Prize for Best Article of 2008.”

His interests include computer science, game development, visualization, robotics, software engineering, project management, group collaboration, IT security in manufacturing and robotics, and student engagement.

Rice joined the Department of Information Systems in the Fall of 2016. He was previously an adjunct instructor at St. Cloud State University. He has worked in the healthcare industry in a Fortune 25 company and has published various articles in the field of information systems and IT security.

Dr. Jieyu Wang has a Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She had been a visiting research assistant professor in the Belk Business College at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte before she joined St. Cloud State University. Her research areas are human-centered artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, security, and information systems. Dr. Wang has published her original work in several national and international scientific publications.

He has been involved in computer security for 30 years and has devised and taught numerous courses related to information assurance. Further, he has published numerous articles and undertaken sponsored research projects in the area. Hisresearch emphasis is pedagogical aspects of teaching information assurance and security within a distributed computing environment. Recently he has taught courses in computer security policy, client/server security and security management.

Mooney is the Dr. Norbert Lindskog Chair in Accounting at St. Cloud State University. She teaches courses on fraud and forensic accounting. She is a graduate of the Fraudwise Academy Bootcamp at Texas A&M University, where she earned her Ph.D. In addition to numerous articles, she has authored four books including: "Sound Investing: Uncover Fraud and PRotect Your Portfolio:. She is also active at the national level of several professional organizations including the AICPA, and served as a trustee for a multi-employer health and pensions benefits fund. As a CPA, she was appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty to the Minnesota Board of Accountancy, where she served as board chair.

Olagunju served on the Oxford University Round Table on Balancing the Interests for the Regulation of Cyberspace. His research is focused on formal verifications of security algorithms and protocols. He regularly teaches cryptography, computer network security and open systems interconnection layers security at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

His interests include software engineering, project management, group collaboration, IT security and electronic commerce. He published many research articles on many well-known journals such as Computerworld, Information & Management, Information Systems Management and the Journal of Information Systems Education.