After spending over two decades in cyber education, including the past 12 years of distinguished service to the ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½, ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ CIS Department within the College of Business Administration, Professor Emeritus Ron Pike is retiring as an educator. The impact he leaves behind at Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ is almost immeasurable, and his legacy will continue to be felt for many years, due to the dedication, resilience, opportunities and lifelong learning approach he bestowed upon the student culture of Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½.
Throughout his service, Professor Pike’s contributions to the school have been numerous. He was instrumental in aiding the funding and development of resources within the CIS department, including a student-run data center, The Mitchell C. Hill Center for Digital Innovation, and student-run security operations center (SOC). As a professor for the College of Business Administration, Pike has published eight journal articles, and 10 other peer-reviewed items, maintaining crucial accreditations, such as the school’s standing with Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). As an educator, he received an Outstanding Faculty of the Year Award in 2017-2018, 2022, and 2023, while completing more than a dozen certificates on topics ranging from developing flipped classrooms, to Quality Matters (QM), Quality Learning and Teaching (QLT), privacy, and numerous technical topics to enhance courses and student learning. Pike also spent countless hours advising student clubs every semester to develop co-curricular learning programs within the clubs to build upon curricular learning, and he also developed student competition programs that have led to numerous regional, national and global victories that have built skills and confidence in Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ students and gained global recognition for the university. Students who have studied in Pike’s undergrad and graduate cybersecurity classes have received job offers from top companies such as Google, IBM, Avanade, and Tesla, just to name a few.
Pull Quote: “When I transitioned from Architecture to CIS after my freshman year, I was definitely intimidated by other students who had stronger technical skills. But his teaching style made the transition seamless. Dr. Pike's emphasis on hands-on learning made the material more accessible and engaging. Instead of traditional lectures, he encouraged us to explore real-world applications, which for me fostered critical thinking and problem-solving skills.” — Aina Keagy (CIS ’18), Privacy Manager at Twitch
Cyber Competitions and Leadership
“We were so fortunate to bring Professor Pike to Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½, and we really needed the vision that we knew Ron could bring to us,” explains Daniel P. Manson, Emeritus Faculty and department chair for Pike’s first four years at Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½. “My goal was to help Ron succeed with his vision, and from year one, Ron was able to take over the advising of student clubs, preparing the students for competitions, and running our student-run data center and our operations center to give our students the true hands-on, polytechnic approach Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ is known for.”
It is in these student clubs and competitions where Professor Pike’s care for the students’ well-being and learning opportunities truly shines through. “Our students build on top of cyber fundamentals by pursuing co-curricular learning opportunities outside of the classroom setting including competitions, research exercises, and chances to learn from corporate partners, alums, and peers,” says the retiring professor.
Under his guidance. Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½’s student-run cybersecurity teams have had greater success in national cyber competitions during the past two years than any school in the history of these events. To date, more than 600 Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ students have engaged in local, regional, national, and international cyber competitions, and the teams routinely finish among the top of the contenders against schools like Stanford, The University of Texas at Austin, Brigham Young, Drexel University and DePaul University, to name a few. At The Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition National Championship, Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½’s student team placed No. 1 in the world in 2022, beating university teams from North America, Europe and the Middle East, with Stanford University placing second and Tennessee Technological University placing third. “The confidence, the competence, the team work, and the soft skills are as valuable as the technical skills, so the competition students come out being battle tested in real world environments,” adds Manson.
Recent competition finishes under Professor Emeritus Ron Pike:
Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC)
- 1st of 100+ schools across 7 global regions (Top 1%)
- Returning global champions (2022 and 2023)
- 1st in Western Regional (2022 and 2023)
- Best Report (2022 and 2023)
- Best Presentation (2022 and 2023)
- Best Technical (2023)
- Highest score in competition history (2023)
National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC)
- 2nd place out of 180 other schools (Top 1%, CPP’s best ever placement)
- First region to take 1st and 2nd place at the national level
- First wildcard team to place
- 1st place of 330 teams (Top .3%) at Hivestorm (a fun competition run by CCDC organizers)
National Centers of Academic Excellence Competition (NCAE)
- 1st place in the Western region out of 12 other schools (Team of entirely first-time competitors)
- Competed nationally against 7 other schools
Pull Quote: “Dr. Pike's passion and knowledge of cybersecurity as well as his dedication to the students was inspiring. From working with students in clubs, to setting up the various competitions students participate in, to the environments and tools within the Mitchell C. Hill Foundation, he seemed to have an answer for everything. I think if anything, his impact would be that, ‘a simple passion for a subject can take you extremely far.’” - Karanbir Singh (BSBA, CIS ’20) Incident Response Consultant, Crowdstrike
Working with Student Cyber Clubs
“The students and polytechnic identity at Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ set our program apart,” explains Pike. “Our students dedicate a great deal of time and effort in supporting one another and training and supporting their peers in the pursuit of cyber competitions, club mentoring and research and career exploration.”
Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ has a few different student-run clubs for cyber development, including Students with an Interest in the Future of Technology (SWIFT). As one of the biggest information technology and security student clubs at Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½, the club’s goal is to empower students to become cybersecurity professionals by establishing and maintaining a supportive and collaborative environment for individuals to learn about the latest technologies and techniques in cybersecurity. SWIFT is open to people from all backgrounds, majors, and skill levels, and this community of cybersecurity enthusiasts gives ongoing training for CPP students and acts as ambassadors to the community at large.
“To say that Dr. Pike had an impact on my experience as a student would be a gross understatement. His unwavering support for SWIFT and our competition teams has been instrumental to our success,” says Jessica Leung, (BS ’24, CIS ’24). “From the countless hours spent in his office organizing travel arrangements for our teams, to the impromptu meetings we held when SWIFT needed guidance, Dr. Pike was the foundation of our efforts. And despite him accumulating more frequent flier miles than airlines themselves, he somehow still tries to pitch me new opportunities for our students monthly–without fail. His encouragement helped me, and countless others, find avenues to develop and demonstrate our hands-on skills, and I will be forever grateful for his mentorship and support.”
Several of these campus club members support their local middle schools by evangelizing information about cyber careers to kids as early as the 5th grade level, while also helping those children to start competing in competitions by 6th grade. The effort has proven to be highly successful in drawing participation from all students regardless of gender, culture, socio-economic status, and other typical demographical limitations. “This has been ongoing for years and is a key reason why we have such a growing diversity among our students in cyber teams here at CPP,” Professor Pike elaborates. “Our students go into local high schools via the CyberPatriot program, a national K-12 youth cyber and STEM education program that CPP alum Diane Miller (’81) led when she was the Director of Global Cyber Education and Workforce Development at Northrop Grumman. It continues to be a direct pipeline for students into CPP’s College of Business Administration, and many of our CPP incoming freshmen students come in with cyber skills from CyberPatriot training in middle and high school.”
“As the mentor and sponsoring staff for SWIFT, he provided opportunities for us to apply our knowledge outside of lectures,” says Aina Keagy (CIS ’18), Privacy Manager at Twitch. “Through my involvement in cybersecurity competitions as well as taking on multiple leadership roles within SWIFT, I was able to expand my soft skills and technical skills. Dr. Pike even encouraged and supported me (along with a couple other students) on a research project that allowed us to present the findings on a global stage held in Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Pike truly emphasizes the practical value of our education and empowered myself and many others to explore the limitless potential of learning outside of a textbook.”
A Circle of Influence For the Future of the Classroom and Beyond
Ron Pike’s vision and influence on Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ goes beyond the students as well. “Being able to be an effective professor is one thing, and he is that — but I think you see that he actually cares about our students. He goes above and beyond to really meet them where they are, and then helps them get to where they want to be. In fact, I first met Dr. Pike as I was a student at Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ and he was one of my instructors,” explains Curtis Carpenter (BS ‘16, MSIS ’21) Interim Director, Advanced Computing, Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½. “When I got my masters from CPP, he was an instructor. By taking his classes, I could see the passion he has for student learning and creating opportunities of value for them.”
After Pike approached Carpenter about his interest in being one of the campus cyber club’s coaches and mentors, Pike found out Carpenter had even more to offer; as he had created and been involved with a non-profit for STEM mentoring for at risk youth. “He found I out wanted to teach, so he was my initial contact in the field, and his work inspired me. You can see the effects of his hard work, as it has continued to increase the number of people who use the resources at the two student centers on campus, as well as offering a chance compete in national and global competitions. It has dramatically increased these students’ visibility to high profile companies seeking talent. I can only hope to try and honor his legacy to do all I can to not only continue what he has done, but to continue expanding the resources the students can use and providing the best opportunities for them as well.” Carpenter’s department colleague Manson agrees. “Ron Pike never wanted to have any limits on our students or what they could achieve. He has dedicated his career to making sure they would succeed, and we will continue to carry out his vision of expansion and opportunity for our future students at Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½.”
California Polytechnic University, ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½, the College of Business Administration, and the Singelyn Graduate School of Business are all grateful for Professor Emeritus Ron Pike’s service, and we wish him the best in all of his future endeavors. Thank you, Dr Pike!