|
CARLISLE, Pa. - Dickinson College and the U.S. Army War College today announced that Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist Rick Atkinson will be the next holder of the General Omar N. Bradley Chair in Strategic Leadership. Atkinson will teach in residence at both Dickinson and the Army War College for one semester beginning September 2004.
Atkinson has been honored three times with the Pulitzer Prize: the 2003 Pulitzer for History for his book, "An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943"; the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting; and the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for public service, awarded to the Washington Post for a series of investigative articles conceived, directed and edited by Atkinson on shootings by the District of Columbia police department.
Atkinson will bring scholarship in history as well as a wealth of experience gained from covering defense issues for the Washington Post. He is the author of two best-selling books, "The Long Gray Line," a narrative account about West Point's class of 1966 and the national leaders it produced; and "Crusade," a narrative history of the Persian Gulf War.
The recipient of the 1983 Livingston Award for international reporting, the 1989 John Hancock Award for Excellence, the 1990 George Polk Award for national reporting, and a 1990 PEN special citation for non-fiction, Atkinson started his journalism career at the Pittsburg (Kansas) Morning Sun in 1976, moved in 1977 to spend six years with the Kansas City Times, and joined the national staff of the Washington Post in 1983. On the Post staff, he covered the Pentagon, the 1984 presidential election and, as deputy national editor for two years, supervised reporters responsible for defense, diplomacy and other national security beats. After returning from a book leave in 1989, he worked as a reporter on the newspaper's investigative staff, producing series on the B-2 bomber, public housing, and the savings and loan scandal. In 1991, he wrote most of the newspaper's lead stories on the Persian Gulf War.
Following another book leave, in 1993 he became the Post's Berlin bureau chief, covering not only Germany and NATO, but also spending considerable time in Somalia and Bosnia. He returned from Europe to become assistant managing editor in 1996.
"From its inception as a joint initiative with Dickinson College the selection committee sought to attract chair holders from a wide range of communities including business, military, politics and academia," said Col. George Reed, a member of the colleges' joint search committee. "Rick Atkinson has studied the nexus of leadership and the military from multiple perspectives and our students will undoubtedly benefit greatly from his insight."
"We are delighted to continue our partnership with the U.S. Army War College in this program and welcome Rick Atkinson's perspective," said Dickinson President William G. Durden. "It will add an invaluable dimension to our students' cross-disciplinary approach to the study of contemporary issues."
Both institutions are deeply committed to understanding leadership, from the perspective of the liberal arts and sciences at Dickinson, and in the environment of international security studies at the Army War College.
The Bradley Chair was most recently held, in 2003, by Howard Law School Dean Kurt Schmoke, a three-term mayor of Baltimore.
Named in memory of the World War II hero, the Omar Bradley Chair provides a visiting scholar the opportunity to explore with students and faculty the nature of leadership and how it can best and most ethically be exercised in a world transformed by globalization, technology and cultural change. The chair is intended to enhance the study of leadership and to encourage civilian-military dialogue.
As part of the collaboration between Dickinson College and the Army War College, Atkinson will participate equally in the academic life at both institutions. Activities may include: lecturing on leadership; teaching at least one to two courses in either the core curriculum or electives during the year at both Dickinson and the Army War College; acting as consultant during the Army War College students' capstone project, the Strategic Crisis Exercise; assisting in the organization and execution of conferences; faculty mentoring/development; project adviser for student research efforts and independent research and publications.
The Army War College Foundation and Dickinson College will continue to co-sponsor the General Omar N. Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership.
Dickinson and the Army War College already enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship as neighboring institutions of higher education in Carlisle, Pa. Dickinson was chartered in 1783 by the revolutionary leaders John Dickinson and Benjamin Rush, who understood the critical importance of creating citizen leaders.
The Army War College was founded in 1901 by Secretary of War Elihu Root, "to preserve peace by intelligent and adequate preparation to repel aggression, through studying and conferring on the great problems of national defense, military science and responsible command."
The chair in strategic leadership has formalized the two schools' relationship, deepened their curricula, enhanced the capabilities of faculty and enriched student experiences at both institutions. |
