LONGMEADOW — Bay Path University’s ninth annual Cybersecurity Summit will be held virtually on Friday, Oct. 8 from 9:30 to 11 a.m.

This year’s featured speaker will be Jessica Bair, director of Cisco Secure Technical Alliance. The topic of her presentation will be “You Have the Power to Design Your Life: How I Used a Career in Cybersecurity to Design Mine.”

To register, click here. Registration for this event is required, and details on how to join the webinar will be sent to registered participants before the event.

The focus of the presentation will be on how to enter, build, or enhance a career in the cybersecurity space. It will cover the skills required to start a successful career; the current career options in cybersecurity; the building blocks to grow a cybersecurity career path, including current certificates and education options; the mindset needed to navigate a constantly changing field; and strategies to cultivate mentorship relationships and expand networks.

Bair has more than two decades of leadership experience in security. As the director of Cisco Secure Technical Alliance, she and her team focus on building open ecosystems for SecureX and more than a dozen security product offerings. She also manages the Cisco team in the Security Operations Centers for the RSA Conferences and Black Hat global conferences. She began her career as a special agent and computer forensics examiner in the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. She earned an MBA from Pepperdine University.

The Cybersecurity Summit is sponsored by Bay Path University, which offers undergraduate degrees in computer science, computer security, digital forensics, and information assurance, as well as a master of science program in cybersecurity management; and also by the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council.

LONGMEADOW — U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Colleges ranks Bay Path University as a top-performing school for both social mobility and innovation in the Regional North Universities category.

In the report released on Sept. 13, Bay Path is ranked 26th in Social Mobility, increasing its standing by 42 spots from 2021. Social mobility recognizes the university’s strength at helping economically disadvantaged students succeed and graduate.

Bay Path also ranks ninth, moving up three spots, on the 2022 Best Colleges list of Most Innovative Universities in the North Region. In both of these categories, Bay Path was selected from a pool of public and private colleges and universities from New England, New York, and New Jersey.

“Bay Path University is about to celebrate its 125th anniversary. Our success — and longevity — has been directly tied to our commitment to provide our students with career-focused education that is innovative and relevant,” Bay Path President Sandra Doran said. “Many of our students are the first in their families to attend college, and our community — trustees, alumni, faculty, staff, and supporters of the university — work in concert to make sure our students are able to reach their goal of a college degree.”

The social-mobility rankings are calculated by assessing the six-year graduation rates of students who received federal Pell Grants compared with the graduation rate of other students. Those grant recipients generally come from households with annual incomes under $50,000. In 2020, 58.3% of Bay Path’s traditional undergraduate students were identified as Pell-eligible.

Bay Path has long been committed to fostering an environment that is supportive and inclusive, reflecting the diversity of its students. For the 2021 incoming fall class of traditional students, 55% are the first in their family to attend college, and 60% are diverse. The university offers numerous scholarship opportunities, as well as academic assistance and other supports, such as the ALLI program, which helps young women transition from high school to their first year as a university student, and an extensive peer-tutoring support system.

The Most Innovative Schools ranking recognizes institutions that have made “innovative improvements toward curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology, and facilities.” These rankings are provided by top college officials who select schools that the public should be watching because of cutting-edge changes they are making on their campuses. Universities must have received at least seven nominations to be recognized in this category.

Bay Path has offered a long list of innovative programs — including Women as Empowered Learners and Leaders, the Center of Excellence for Women in STEM, and the Center for Excellence in Information Assurance and CyberDefense — that prepare Bay Path students for future personal and professional success.