Research conducted by two Chanticleer Intelligence Brief (CIB) analysts will feature in a peer-reviewed scholarly volume to be published by the University of North Carolina in November. Sarah Harvey was part of the first Executive Team that founded the CIB in 2015. In 2016, she continued to serve in the organization as an analyst in the Americas Section, specializing in Venezuela. Diana Evans was the CIB’s Communications Officer in 2016, while also serving as head of the organization’s Americas Section.

In the spring of 2016, the two CIB analysts researched the political impact caused by the large data-breach suffered recently by the United States Office of Personnel Management, which has been widely blamed on China. They presented their preliminary research findings at the annual conference of the South Carolina Political Science Association at Winthrop University in March of this year. A month later, they presented their finished research at the 30th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in Asheville, NC. In early June, Harvey and Evans were officially notified that NCUR had selected their paper for inclusion in the official Proceedings of the 30th National Conference on Undergraduate Research, which will be published by the University of North Carolina in November of this year. The Proceedings will include the best peer-reviewed papers presented at the NCUR conference last April.

Harvey, a native of Maryland, said of her success: “To me, this publication signifies a reward for hard work. Diana and I spent countless hours and many late nights researching, reviewing, and editing, which ultimately paid off. This research paper took more diligence and patience than I thought I was capable of. I’m very proud to say that I will be published author in my field of study as an undergraduate student. I can confidently say that this publication is one of my proudest accomplishments”.

Speaking from her home state of Massachusetts, Evans said: “Having a peer-reviewed article published is the dream of all undergraduates. Being one of a few authors selected from over 4,000 applications is an honor. Four years ago, I never would have imagined that I would have a scholarly publication under my name. For me, this is a personal victory because it shows how much I have grown academically, mentally, and personally while at CCU. Sarah and I overcame challenges, presented at two conferences, and are now published scholars. Having this publication on my resume is the biggest accomplishment in my life so far”.

Harvey and Evans’ research project was supervised by CIB faculty mentor Dr. Joseph Fitsanakis. “I am incredibly proud of Sarah and Diana”, said Dr. Fitsanakis. “We began this project a long time ago, in November 2015, and these two students sacrificed a lot in order to achieve this remarkable success. They are both incredibly promising individuals with a tremendous amount of determination and knowledge in their area of expertise. All of this was made possible by the constant support of the Department of Politics and the College of Humanities and Fine Arts at Coastal Carolina University. We are grateful to them for giving us the resources we need to help our students succeed”.

Harvey and Evans completed their degrees in Intelligence and National Security Studies at CCU in May 2016. Their soon-to-be-published paper is entitled “Defending Against Cyber Espionage: The US Office of Personnel Management Hack as a Case Study in Information Assurance”. Harvey and Evans’ research is also featured on the website of the American Political Science Association.