Dr. Robert D. Childs
Director, Information Resources Management College
On March 5, 1999 Dr. Childs was selected to be Director of the
IRM College. Under his leadership the college has become the national
leader in providing graduate learning experiences in Information Assurance,
Chief Information Officer and "E" Government to all federal employees.
He established Centers of Excellence for Education in E-government and
Information Assurance while expanding the number of institutions offering
cooperative masters and Ph.D. degrees and increasing international and industry
participation in programs.
Dr. Childs became Dean of Faculty and Academic Programs at the Information Resources Management
College on October 1, 1991. As Dean he spearheaded the upgrading of college faculty and programs, steered the
college into a consortium with the Defense Acquisition University, conceptualized and implemented a 10-month
program on Information Warfare and Strategy, guided development of the Chief Information Officer Program, and
secured cooperative masters programs with leading civilian institutions.
Commissioned into the Air Force, his first assignment was Chief, Instructor Training, at the School of Applied
Aerospace Sciences-Denver, Colorado. Later he participated in founding the Community College of the Air Force
and served as Director, Associations and Institutions of Higher Education . He then was selected for the Air Staff
Training Program (ASTRA), serving as Director, Precommissioning Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Military Personnel Policy. During 1976, he became the Director of Plans and Program Analysis
at the Air Command and Staff College. In 1978 he was selected as Commandant, Air Force Systems Command
Noncommissioned Officers Academy and Leadership School where he initiated a major redirection of the curriculum
to strengthen managerial responsibilities being given to noncommissioned officers and oversaw major renovations of
all academic and resident living facilities.
In 1980 he was selected as a Senior Research Fellow at National Defense University and in 1981 graduated
from National War College. From 1981 to 1983, he served as Director of the Air Force Leadership and Motivation
Directorate, where he initiated the first major review of the enlisted professional military education system.
He became the Director of Academic Plans and Policy, National Defense University, where he authored the
DoD Wide Joint Professional Military Education Curriculum and Standards and managed the reorganization of the
University. He was selected for an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellowship in 1989 and served as the
assistant to the President and Provost at George Mason University.
He serves on a number of committees and boards: the American Council on Education's Council of Fellows;
Syracuse University's School of Information Studies Board of Visitors; The Information Resource Management
Association Board of Advisors and International Curriculum Committee; Armed Forces Communication and
Education Association Technical Committee; and the eGovernment Program Advisory Board. In 2001 and 2002
he was a "Federal 100" Award winner.
Dr. Childs earned a Bachelor of Science from Grove City College, a Master of Arts from Duke University
and a Doctorate from Denver University. He is a graduate of the National War College and Air Command and Staff
College and attended the Advanced Management Program at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.