President-elect Barack Obama has named retired Navy Admiral Dennis Blair to be director of national intelligence. If confirmed by the Senate, Blair would oversee the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies and give the president his daily intelligence briefings.

An area resident, Blair held the 2007-2008 Dickinson College and U.S. Army War College General of the Army Omar N. Bradley Joint Chair in Strategic Leadership. In this position, Blair participated in the academic life at both institutions. The Bradley Chair provides a visiting scholar the opportunity to explore with students and faculty, through lectures and discussion, the nature of leadership and how it can best and most ethically be exercised in a world transformed by globalization, technology and cultural change.

Neil B. Weissman, provost and dean of Dickinson College said, "Adm. Blair added greatly to our community as Bradley chair holder. We were all impressed with his experience and thoughtfulness."

"During Adm. Blair's tenure at the U.S. Army War College, he served as a role model and mentor for our students," said Dr. William T. Johnsen, dean of academic affairs at the War College. "He adeptly distilled his extensive experience in national security and military strategy into insights that our students can apply for the remainder of their careers."

Jonathan Roberts, Dickinson alumnus from the class of 2008 and currently a graduate student in intelligence studies at King's College in London said, "I was fortunate enough to take a class with Adm. Blair and he was very helpful to me in the graduate school application process. He was an excellent teacher and a strategic thinker. President-elect Obama clearly has an affinity for smart people, and Blair certainly fits that bill."

Named in memory of the World War II hero, the Omar Bradley chair is intended to encourage civilian-military dialogue. 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. Pulitzer Prize winning historian and journalist, Rick Atkinson and Dr. Richard Kohn, a nationally recognized expert in the relationship between civilian leadership and the military officer corps, are among those who have held the chair.

A 34-year Navy veteran, Blair oversaw the U.S. Pacific Command after the Sept. 11 attacks in military operations that covered more than 100 million square miles. As the commander in chief, he led the largest of the unified commands and directed U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force operations in an area stretching from India to the West Coast of the United States. Blair was the first person to serve as associate director of the Central Intelligence Agency for military support. He was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal four times and the National Intelligence Service medal twice.

Blair also is past president of the Institute for Defense Analyses, a government think-tank in the Washington, D.C. area.

He is a 1968 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, a Rhodes Scholar and a graduate of Oxford University with a master's degree in history and languages. Blair also served as a White House fellow at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.