COLLEGE STATION - Robert M. Gates, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has been named interim dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.
Texas A&M President Ray M. Bowen said Gates will assume leadership of the Bush School Sept. 1 and serve as dean for one year while a national search is conducted to fill the deanship on a permanent basis.
"We are highly pleased Dr. Gates has agreed to head the Bush School at this key transitional time in its development," Bowen said. "He brings to the job a superb mixture of exemplary service at the national level, valuable interaction with top national and international leaders of business and industry and strong academic experience."
He earned a Ph.D. at Georgetown University in Russian and Soviet history and holds a master's degree in history from Indiana University.
Gates' assumption of leadership of the Bush School coincides with its new status as a free-standing unit within Texas A&M's academic framework. During its first two years of operation - through graduation of its inaugural class of master's level students - the school operated as part of the College of Liberal Arts.
"Now it has graduated its first class and reached a significant degree of maturity, it is appropriate that the Bush School be a more independent unit and have the opportunity to develop its own identity," Bowen noted.
Gates said he welcomed the challenge to lead the Bush School as it moves into the second phase of development, and looks forward to working with students.
"The importance of public service is a large part of the legacy of President George Bush. I am pleased and honored to have a part in making that legacy an enduring one through the Bush School at Texas A&M University. We intend to establish a premier program at the school that will make its graduates highly sought after for every form of public service nationwide because of their recognized expertise, dedication and Texas A&M enthusiasm," he said.
Gates was director of the CIA from November of 1991 until January of 1993 under appointment by President George Bush. He previously served as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser at the White House from January of 1989 until his appointment as CIA Director. He was named Deputy Director of the CIA by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. During his 27-year career with the CIA, he served under six presidents - representing both major political parties - and worked for four of them at the White House on the National Security Council staff.
Gates has longstanding and unique ties with several top U.S. universities. While heading CIA's analytical directorate in 1986, he developed a cooperative program with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University to develop case studies on the role of intelligence in American government decision-making. He was instrumental in securing CIA and Department of Defense funding during the early 1980s to strengthen Soviet and Russian studies nationwide in response to a request from a consortium of 10 universities led by Harvard. While heading the CIA, he directed declassification of many of the agency's historical records for use by scholars.
Since his retirement from government in 1993, Gates has served as an evaluator of student theses for the International Studies Program of the University of Washington. Also, he has lectured at numerous universities, including Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Indiana, Louisiana State, Oklahoma, and the College of William and Mary.
Gates is a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Oklahoma International Programs Center and a trustee of the endowment fund for the College of William and Mary, his alma mater which in 1998 conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
He is the author of From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, published in 1996. He has published numerous articles on government and foreign policy and is a frequent contributor to the op-ed page of The New York Times.
Gates has been widely honored for his governmental service. He has on three occasions received the CIA's highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, and twice was named recipient of the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal. Additionally, he has been awarded the National Security Medal and the Presidential Citizens Medal.
He is a member of the board of trustees of The Fidelity Funds, sits on the boards of directors of TRW, Inc. and NACCO Industries and serves as senior adviser to several major international firms. He is a trustee of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Boston and the Forum for International Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting vigorous American international leadership. Also, he is a member of the national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America and serves as president of the National Eagle Scout Association. -30-
Contact: Lane Stephenson at 409-845-4662. For additional Texas A&M stories and photos, see our web site at http://www.tamu.edu and click on "news."
7/30/99
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