Coming from South Carolina, we welcome Dr. Ben Schooley to the Electrical and Computer Engineering department! Dr. Schooley’s experience at BYU isn’t just starting this year, however. His career started here in Provo, when he received his undergraduate degree at BYU.
After graduating from BYU, Dr. Schooley went on to attend Claremont Graduate University, exactly where he was raised. After receiving a Ph.D. in Management of Information Systems & Technology, Dr. Schooley continued to work as a research professor at Claremont Graduate University. With his recent move back to Utah, Dr. Schooley has been able to once again experience beautiful mountain ranges, similar to the ones he grew up with in California.
Further on into his career, Dr. Schooley began teaching at the University of South Carolina, where he was for the past 10 years. While working there, Dr. Schooley began as an assistant professor and worked his way up to become an associate professor. Since teaching about information systems and cybersecurity, Dr. Schooley has been able to view how the world’s increase in technological prowess can be used both for good and bad.
He enjoys “the challenge of trying to create something that people want to use, is safe, and protects people from harm.” For this very reason, he’s currently teaching an IT and Cybersecurity Ethics class, and will begin teaching a Research Methods Class next semester in addition to Intro to Cybersecurity. “I've always believed that technology designed and implemented properly can provide huge benefits to people. The opposite is also true. When built in a way that is meant to cause harm, it can hurt people's lives.” Furthermore, he described his experience with the online threats that people see in the cybersecurity field. An example of such threat is a phishing attack, where an email is sent pretending to be someone else. Seeing these events happen in real time, Dr. Schooley has worked with individuals and companies to protect their assets and intellectual properties.
While he’s not at work, Dr. Schooley loves to spend his free time with the people that matter most: family. In particular, he loves to be with them outside. Whether he’s mountain biking, snowboarding, or hiking, he makes the most of his time with them.
This is Dr. Schooley’s first semester teaching at BYU, and he has thoroughly enjoyed it. “The quality and caliber of the students all around is really impressive. They’re quality people as well. You see their spirituality, how they treat each other, and the respect they give to each other and me.” Welcome back to BYU Dr. Schooley!
