The School of Foreign Service’s nationally recognized Security Studies Program will have new leadership when the program’s current director departs Georgetown this summer, administrators announced this week.
Michael Brown, head of the SSP and director of the SFS’ Center for Peace and Security Studies, said last week that he had accepted a position as head of the international affairs school at George Washington University. His resignation as director of the SSP, a graduate-level program with approximately 225 students, will take effect at the end of June.
Dan Byman, an associate professor in the SSP, has been selected to succeed Brown as director of the program and the Center for Peace and Security Studies, university officials said. The Center for Peace and Security Studies encompasses both the Security Studies and Women in International Security programs.
“Dan has made significant contributions to Georgetown’s Security Studies Program during his time on the faculty at Georgetown,” SFS Dean Robert L. Gallucci said in a university statement. “I am confident he will continue to contribute a wealth of knowledge and practical experience in his new role as director of the program, and I look forward to working with him in this capacity.”
Byman is the author of several books and publications related to international security, terrorism and the Middle East. He was a consultant to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, and a government analyst on Middle Eastern affairs.
“I look forward to taking over one of the top security studies programs in the world,” Byman said. “I plan to continue to expand the course offerings for SSP and to increase [the Center for Peace and Security Studies’] efforts to promote high-quality scholarship and learning.”
Brown told The Hatchet, GWU’s student newspaper, that he looked forward to his new position and that his experience at Georgetown and other institutions will help him administer the various programs and departments he will be responsible for at GWU. He declined to comment for this article.
Brown will remain on Georgetown’s faculty until August 1, when he will officially begin his tenure as dean of GWU’s Elliott School of International Affairs.
University officials announced two other major SFS appointments Tuesday. Professor John Kline, an international business diplomacy specialist who has served as a consultant for numerous government agencies and economic organizations, will become director of the approximately 180-student Master of Science in Foreign Service Program. Professor Carol Lancaster, a former director of the MSFS program and Georgetown’s African Studies Program, was named director of the SFS’ research-based Mortara Center for International Studies.
