North Dakota State University President Dean L. Bresciani announced today that U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates will be the guest speaker at NDSU’s spring commencement May 14.
Dr. Robert M. Gates was sworn in on December 18, 2006, as the 22nd Secretary of Defense. Dr. Gates is the only Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in that office by a newly-elected President. President Barack Obama is the eighth president Dr. Gates has served.
Before entering his present post, Dr. Gates was the President of Texas A&M University, the nation's seventh largest university. In 2004, he hired Bresciani from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to serve as Vice President of Student Affairs at Texas A&M. Prior to assuming the Texas A&M presidency in 2002, Gates served as Interim Dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999 to 2001.
"Secretary Gates exemplifies a career of selfless service to our country at a level with few parallels, and through the course of his tenure leading Texas A&M University, became a broadly respected higher education leader," Bresciani said. "We are honored that North Dakota State University's graduates will have the opportunity to hear from such a notable patriot, scholar and public servant."
Dr. Gates joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional. During that period, he spent nearly nine years at the National Security Council, The White House, serving four presidents of both political parties.
Dr. Gates served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993. He is the only career officer in CIA's history to rise from entry-level analyst to Director. He served as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser at the White House from January 20, 1989, until November 6, 1991, for President George H.W. Bush.
Secretary Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has twice received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received CIA's highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.
He is the author of the memoir, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, published in 1996.
While President of Texas A&M University, Gates also served as Chairman of the Independent Trustees of The Fidelity Funds, the nation's largest mutual fund company, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc. and Parker Drilling Company, Inc.
Secretary Gates also has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Council on Education, the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America. He has also been President of the National Eagle Scout Association.
A native of Wichita, Kansas, Secretary Gates received his bachelor's degree from the College of William and Mary, his master's degree in history from Indiana University, and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University.
NDSU’s spring commencement is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, May 14, at the Fargodome.
