New Cyber Security major enrolls record class Mercyhurst University welcomed 63 Cyber
coincides with the addition of the MCPc Cyber Education Center at Mercyhurst University, which was dedicated in 2018 on the Mercyhurst campus. Said university President Michael T. Victor, “While focused almost entirely on national security and law enforcement at its start nearly three decades ago, the Ridge College has evolved to educate students in the burgeoning feld of business intelligence, and now, cyber security.”
Security majors in fall 2019 – believed to be the largest enrollment ever in a debut program. Some 45 freshmen and 18 upperclassmen have chosen to focus their degree pursuits on this high-demand feld. Although Mercyhurst has infused cyber security concepts as part of its Intelligence Studies curriculum for years, this marks the frst year that it has ofered Cyber Security as an undergraduate major in its own right. The move
High-fying entrepreneur makes mark in real estate world
Long before Ryan Gibson ’05 enrolled in the Walker School of Business, he dreamed of becoming a pilot. Even after his Mercyhurst education launched him in a diferent direction, he knew he still wanted to fy. Today, Ryan is both the chief investment ofcer of an $85 million real estate frm he co-founded and a commercial airline pilot. He has a simple explanation: “I have a passion for entrepreneurship, and I don’t like being bored.” After graduation, Ryan went to work as an airline pilot in Washington, D.C. In 2009, he and his wife, Jackie Kerper ’05, bought their frst house and “rehabbed it right down to the studs.” He soon teamed up with his neighbor, Scott Lewis, to renovate four properties on their block and the company Spartan Investment Group was born. Spartan began with renovating properties and converting row homes into condos, but now focuses on commercial real estate.
Today, Spartan has recruited 1,500 passive investors and raised $20 million in private equity. Business is exploding right now, Ryan says, and the company is on track to meet its goal of owning $250 million in real estate by the end of 2022. In the past year, Spartan has grown from the founders to building a team of 22 employees and has facilities in Texas, Colorado, and Washington. It was only natural for Jackie Kerper Gibson, who majored in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HRIM) at Mercyhurst, to become Spartan’s director of operations. Jackie’s HRIM background made her a perfect ft to oversee Spartan’s more than 3,000 units of real estate. Ryan says that partnering with his wife, a fellow Mercyhurst grad, has contributed signifcantly to the business’s success. Ryan says, “It’s special to be able to work with your spouse and have the same educational foundation that Mercyhurst provided.”
Ryan and Jackie have a daughter, Quinn Marilyn, who’s 3, and welcomed a son, Rowan, on Dec. 26, 2019. They live in Seattle, Washington. Ryan says he’s always been entrepreneurial, but he’s quick to credit his Mercyhurst mentors for their contributions to his current success, including President Michael T. Victor, who taught his Business Policy and Strategy class, and rowing coach Adrian Spracklen. Learn more about Ryan’s company and its mission “to improve lives through real estate” at spartan-investors.com .
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