The Board of Directors
By law, the United States Institute of Peace is governed by a bipartisan Board of Directors. The board is composed of twelve members from outside federal service appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate, and four ex-officio members: the secretary of state (who may designate another Senate-confirmed State Department official), the secretary of defense (who may designate another Senate-confirmed Defense Department official), the president of the National Defense University (who may designate the vice president of the National Defense University), and the president of the Institute (nonvoting). The board is prohibited by law from having more than eight voting members of the same political party.
The Board of Directors actively oversees the activities of the United States Institute of Peace—setting long-term goals and priorities for the Institute as well as monitoring the Institute's financial, administrative, and personnel policies. The board approves major new program initiatives and makes final decisions in the selection of Institute grantees, fellows, and winners of the National Peace Essay Contest for high school students. To accomplish these tasks, the board meets five times each year in regular meetings, with special meetings of Board subgroups convened as necessary.
Members appointed to serve on the Board of Directors may serve no more than two four-year terms, although they may continue to serve until replaced. Many distinguished Americans from across the country have served on the board since the Institute's founding.
The chair and vice chair of the Board of Directors are elected by the board from among the twelve directors appointed from outside federal service. The chair, or the vice chair in the chair's absence, presides over all meetings of the board and serves for a term of three years. The current chair of the Board of Directors is J. Robinson West.
Past Chairs of the Board of Directors
Current Board
- J. Robinson West (Chairman)
Chairman, PFC Energy
- George E. Moose (Vice Chairman)
Adjunct Professor of Practice, The George Washington University
Read Congressional Testimony given: The Role of Civilian and Military Agencies in the Advancement of America's Diplomatic and Development Objectives
March 5, 2009
- Anne H. Cahn
Former Scholar in Residence, American University
- Chester A. Crocker
James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies,
School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
- Kerry Kennedy
Human Rights Activist
Read remarks given at the: United Nations UNICRI Conference on Terrorism
January 22, 2009
- Ikram U. Khan
President, Quality Care Consultants, LLC
- Stephen D. Krasner
Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations, Stanford University
- Kathleen Martinez
Executive Director, World Institute on Disability
- Jeremy A. Rabkin
Professor, George Mason School of Law
- Judy Van Rest
Executive Vice President, International Republican Institute
- Nancy Zirkin
Executive Vice President, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Members ex officio
Read More
- USIP Mourns Passing of Board Member Ron Silver
United States Institute of Peace (USIP) board of directors member Ron Silver passed away at his home in New York City on Sunday, March 15, 2009. USIP staff and board of directors will remember in Ron an accomplished, personable, dedicated colleague who served the Institute with distinction.
- New Board Members Begin Tenure at U.S. Institute of Peace
Today Ikram U. Khan, Kerry Kennedy, Stephen D. Krasner and Nancy Zirkin were sworn in as members of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). The four were nominated by President George W. Bush in March 2008 and confirmed by the Senate on June 4, 2008.
- In Memoriam: Institute Mourns Former Board Member Peter W. Rodman
The U.S. Institute of Peace was deeply saddened to learn of the untimely death on August 2 of Peter Warren Rodman. Rodman served as the Department of Defense’s ex officio representative on the Institute’s board from March 2004 until March 2007.
- In Memoriam: Christopher H. Phillips
Christopher H. Phillips, USIP board member from 1993 to 1996, passed away on January 10, 2008 in Gloucester, MA.
- Institute Mourns Passing of Former Board Member and Friend Elspeth Davies Rostow
Elspeth Davies Rostow, USIP board member from 1987 to 1991, passed away on December 9, 2007.
- Senate Confirms New USIP Board Members
News Release, June 6, 2007
- Institute Mourns Passing of Former Board Member and Friend Seymour Martin Lipset
Seymour Martin Lipset, USIP board member from 1995 to 2006, and vice chair from 2001-2004, passed away on December 31, 2007.
- Four New Members Join Board
PeaceWatch, August/October 2003
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