News release courtesy of Texas A&M University:
Ryan Crocker, dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, was confirmed by the Senate Aug. 1 as a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees all U.S. government-supported civilian international media.
Dean Crocker also serves as an executive professor at the Bush School and holds the Edward and Howard Kruse Endowed Chair. He has an appointment as the James Schlesinger Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Virginia. And from 2012- 2013, he served as the first Kissinger Senior Fellow at Yale University.
“I am deeply honored to have the confidence of the President and the Senate for the position of governor,” Crocker said. “Getting America’s message out to the world is vitally important, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the board to ensure we are as effective as possible. I am especially pleased to be assuming this position while here at the Bush School and Texas A&M, which place such weight on service to our country.”
Crocker retired from the Foreign Service in April 2009 after a career of more than 37 years but was recalled to active duty by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan in 2011. He has served as U.S. Ambassador six times: Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon. He has also served as the International Affairs Advisor at the National War College, where he joined the faculty in 2003. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1971, he has had assignments in Iran, Qatar, Iraq and Egypt, as well as Washington, D.C. He was assigned to the American Embassy in Beirut during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and the bombings of the embassy and the Marine barracks in 1983.
Crocker joins two other new BBG members: Jeffrey Shell, president of NBC Universal International, and Matthew C. Armstrong, author, speaker and strategist on issues related to public diplomacy.