Gary Kessler
Associate Professor: Computer & Digital Forensics
Associate Professor
Director, Champlain College Center for Digital Investigation (C3DI)
Technical Adviser, VT Internet Crimes Task Force
Quality in digital forensics
An associate professor and program director of the new Information Security major, as well the program director of the Computer Networking and Computer & Digital Forensics programs at Champlain College, Gary Kessler is thoughtful, articulate, and passionate about his work. His primary areas of professional interest in Information Technology (IT) include computer and network security, computer and network forensics, TCP/IP and the Internet, LAN and WAN technologies and communications standards.
Many things excite him about teaching at Champlain, he says, particularly the students. "The quality of the students is key," he says. "I really enjoy seeing the growth and transition in the students over their years in college. I like the spirit at the school that allows everyone-students, faculty and staff-to pursue good ideas merely because they are good ideas!"
"Each of my programs is highly practical and [has] wonderful, experienced faculty," he says. "The subject matter, while technical, is also fun and interesting-and important."
A suite of offerings
The three programs create a complementary, comprehensive group of course offerings from one of New England's leaders in IT education. All of Champlain's IT students benefit from the extensive selection of related courses and the depth of experience provided by Champlain's IT faculty.
Champlain's Information Security program's innovative approach allows students to earn an Associate's degree in Computer Networking before earning their Bachelor's degree in Information Security. The goal is to ensure that students are well-grounded in managing servers and networks before they focus on the in-depth study of information security. Information Security majors will learn to look at IT issues from all sides of the spectrum by learning how to secure networks, protect organizations' information, develop user policies and design ways to keep undesirables out of their networks.
"They say that people in tech industries in the modern era will have at least four separate careers-not jobs, but careers-in their lifetime," Gary says. "That is certainly true for me. My career started in computer programming in the 1970s, [and migrated] to computer networking in the 1980s, information security in the 1990s and digital forensics in the current decade. While these all appear different, they are actually all part of a continuum and deal with information as an asset-and have become particularly relevant since the events of 9/11 and its aftermath."
Background
Prior to coming to Champlain College in June 2000, Gary was a senior network security analyst at SymQuest Group, a network integration consulting company in South Burlington, Vermont. Previously, he was the director of Information Technology and a senior member of technical staff at Hill Associates, a telecommunications education and training firm in Colchester, Vermont. He has been providing telecommunications course development, education and consulting services since 1984.
Gary has a BA in Math from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Vermont.
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