Graduates get BS in security systems, Bosch knowledge

FARMINGDALE, N.Y.—When graduates this May tossed their caps in the air at Farmingdale State College, based here on Long Island, roughly 50 of them went out into the workforce with a BS in Security Systems, completing one of the few four-year programs that prepares students for a life in the installation/integration industry.

Though the program began as a full-time degree track in 1995, it has grown in popularity, said John Kostanoski, chair of the Criminal Justice and Security Systems department, and the school was able to increase the quality of its offering this year thanks to $200,000 worth of security equipment donated by Bosch Security Systems.

As many ponder where new talent will come from to supplant a growing list of retiring company owners and executives, Kostanoski said he's turning out “managers of technologies, managers of systems. These are application-oriented graduates.” He said graduates exit his program ready to design security systems, go into business for themselves, or join up with manufacturer's rep firms and vendors to be sales people with an understanding of system design and engineering.

And these aren't your father's security systems they're designing. “I would say we're definitely, definitely leading edge,” Kostanoski said. “From the get go, the IP suite was built into the program, so we could look at these systems using the protocols of the internet to communicate with one another. From the very beginning it's had a strong core of computing. And that's paid off handsomely, since manufacturers are now adopting IP in their devices. So our students have kind of been there, done that. We've been doing that for a good number of years.”

The program was started here on Long Island at Farmingdale, which is one of a handful of technically oriented SUNY schools, because of Long Island's rich history with security technology, from Ademco/Honeywell to Vicon to Napco to Speco, and a number of others. It has 175 full-time students, along with roughly 25 part-time students.