Information Sciences and Technology

Duffetts create IST scholarship to open doors for future cybersecurity leaders

Andy and Danielle Duffett with their children, Max, Sam and Ivy. Credit: ProvidedAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Over two decades ago, when Andy Duffett visited Penn State as a high school student, he was inspired by Jim Thomas, the dean of the then-School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) that opened its doors in 1999. 

“Dean Thomas told a story of how IST was created to sit at the crossroads of business and technology. I walked out of that thinking, ‘This is incredibly innovative,’” said Andy. “And I truly bought into his vision that technology was going to change the way that businesses run and operate, that technology was going to fundamentally change how the world ran.” 

In the years since earning his bachelor’s degree in information sciences and technology in 2005, Andy has seen Thomas’ vision play out in his own successful career as a technology executive. After earning an MBA from Penn State, Andy went on to work in sales and operating roles for the tech firms of Hewlett-Packard and Oracle. In 2015 he joined CrowdStrike — a global cybersecurity leader — where he currently serves as senior vice president of global revenue operations. Now, Andy wants to highlight the impact of his IST degree on his professional growth and ensure that future IST students have the same opportunities that he did. 

He and his wife, Danielle, who earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Penn State in 2005, have endowed a scholarship in the College of IST. The scholarship will benefit IST students with financial need who contribute to the diversity of the student body. 

“We want to do our small part to help entice and recruit people — especially those that are from underrepresented groups — to seize the opportunity to come to a school like Penn State or be part of a college like IST and use that as a springboard to catapult their career,” said Andy. 

Danielle’s perspective as a former first grade teacher has helped her to see the value of academic opportunities, too.  

“As a teacher, I have seen firsthand how access to top-tier education can open doors and create opportunities for people,” said Danielle. “Our goal with this scholarship is to hopefully play a role in making that a reality for generations to come.” 

“I thank Andy and Danielle for their generous support, which will directly benefit students in the college,” said Andrew Sears, dean of the College of IST. “Andy's support as an IST alumnus is a testament to the significant value he places on his own education. It’s incredibly meaningful to watch his IST experience come full circle as he makes the same opportunities possible for the next generation." 

As a member of one of the college’s first graduating classes, Andy acknowledges how valuable the leadership of the IST Dean’s Advisory Board was in shaping IST’s initial programs — and how the board continues to provide critical insight and guidance as the college seeks to address the needs of industry leveraging evolving and emerging technologies.  

“The Dean’s Advisory Board is made up of top industry leaders who have supported IST since its infancy, and they’ve done a really good job of translating what they are seeing across their industries back into the direction, vision and strategy of the college,” said Andy. “The college’s ability to quickly translate real-world demand into its programs and degrees is one of the things that excites me most about what’s happened with IST over the last 20 years, and what the next 20 years can look like.” 

As the leader of a large organization at CrowdStrike, Andy was excited by the college’s launch of a bachelor’s degree program in cybersecurity analytics and operations in 2017, followed by an online bachelor’s degree through Penn State World Campus in 2020 along with master’s degrees both residentially and online.  

“There is a major shortage of cybersecurity professionals, and IST and Penn State are making the right moves to become known as a global leader in the development of talent in that space — and they're doing it with other programs as well,” he said. “The college has been proactive about identifying industry needs and seizing the opportunity, like Dean Thomas did in the early days, and aligning to put graduates into the workforce that have the skills and abilities to be future leaders in those areas where there’s the greatest need.” 

When he was a student at IST, Andy gained fundamental training and technical skills. He also strengthened critical interpersonal skills that have contributed to his professional success. The college’s emphasis on team projects addressing real-world scenarios helped shape his problem-solving skills, while the broad knowledge platform prepared him for a diversity of industries. 

“When I left IST, I felt that whatever was put in front of me, I had the foundational knowledge to address — whether it was on the more technical side or more on the business process and optimization side of things,” he said. “IST gave me the confidence to go out there and take on big, audacious, challenging initiatives, which ultimately helped me continue to grow my career in technology on a more accelerated pace.” 

Now, as he and his former classmates are advancing in their careers, Andy aims to use his own industry experience to help continue those efforts. In addition to endowing a scholarship, Andy will serve a three-year term on the IST Dean’s Advisory Board beginning this fall. 

“IST needs graduates who have had success in the business world to come back and put their fingerprints on the future direction of the program,” he said. “And putting your fingerprints on it comes in a lot of different ways — by being involved, donating time, and also providing funding to help shape the direction and recruit (strong candidates) to the program.” 

He is not only committed to recruiting strong, diverse candidates to IST, but to the workforce as well. A supporter of and advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, Andy aims to place more individuals from underrepresented backgrounds into technology roles — specifically in cybersecurity. This is personally significant to him following the recent birth of his and Danielle’s third child — their first girl, four-month-old Ivy.   

“Being a father of a daughter has definitely changed my view on things,” Andy said. “There is a major gap between the percentage of men versus the percentage of women working in cybersecurity. It’s that way in tech, and that way at IST. So how do we continue to pave a way for Ivy and all the other women that hopefully go into technology into the future?”  

Through the scholarship, Andy and Danielle are committed to joining the University and other alumni in making a difference for students of all backgrounds. 

“Penn State is a very special place for our family, and we believe that the University is uniquely positioned to help address some of the challenges underrepresented groups face,” said Danielle. 

Andy calls on his fellow alumni — especially those who graduated in the college’s first few years — to join him and make their own mark on the college.  

“I’m really hoping this scholarship motivates or inspires some of my fellow classmates and alumni to think about the impact that IST had on them in their career and how they can be part of the story for the future of IST,” he said. “And whether that’s creating a scholarship or getting more involved with the college to help shape its future direction, I feel like we are at that point now — almost 20 years after we graduated — to really make an impact.” 

That impact could make a big difference for prospective students as they decide where they’ll attend college, like Andy experienced when he first visited IST.  

“I’m more excited about the future of IST now than I was 20-plus years ago as a high school student when I bought in to Dean Thomas’ vision,” he concluded. 

With the record-breaking success of “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” which raised $2.2 billion from 2016 to 2022, philanthropy is helping to sustain the University’s tradition of education, research and service to communities across the commonwealth and around the globe. Scholarships enable our institution to open doors and welcome students from every background, support for transformative experiences allows our students and faculty to fulfill their vast potential for leadership, and gifts toward discovery and excellence help us to serve and impact the world we share. To learn more about the impact of giving and the continuing need for support, visit raise.psu.edu

Last Updated August 31, 2022