The importance of intelligence gathering and analysis has become increasingly evident since September 2001. More than ever before, the intelligence community needs a workforce that is competitive, knowledgeable and ethnically diverse. The existing infrastructure for training this workforce is limited by the difficulty of scaling up from previous levels to meet the new demands.

As the challenges of the new century unfold, government agencies, private industry, consulting companies, and think tanks will increasingly rely on a new cadre of employees to formulate policies and to develop business strategies that are global, yet protect the competitive interests of the US Government and organizations.

Universities have an important role to play in fulfilling these requirements. Thus, in 2003, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) responded to this need by funding the creation of Centers of Academic Excellence in universities throughout the United States . Currently, 10 such Centers have been established and ODNI intends to establish a total of 20 by 2015.

The Center for Academic Excellence in National Security (CAENS) Studies at Clark Atlanta University was established in 2005. It was created to promote intelligence studies to a new generation of college and high school students through an innovative program of study and research that includes broad exposure to interdisciplinary studies with particular emphasis on informational science and technology. The CAENS Studies program at CAU includes an IC Scholar's program for college students and a Summer Institute for high school students.