James Schlesinger Lecture

Speaker: Dr. James Schlesinger, Former United States Secretary of Defense and Former United States Secretary of Energy
Title: “Facing Old and New Defense Challenges”
Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Time: 7:30-9:00 pm
Location: Hinckley Center Assembly Hall
Sponsor: Wheatley Institution and David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies


James Schlesinger received a bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1950. He received his master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard University in 1952 and 1956.

Dr. Schlesinger began his government service in 1969 as assistant director of the U.S. Bureau of the Budget (later the Office of Management and Budget), where he also served as acting deputy director. From July 1973 to November 1975, Dr. Schlesinger was Secretary of Defense. Immediately prior to this appointment, he served as Director of Central Intelligence. In August 1971, he was selected by President Nixon to become chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, a position he held until February 1973. Dr. Schlesinger was the nation's first Secretary of Energy, taking the oath of office one day after President Carter signed the legislation creating the new department. He served in this position from 1977 to 1979.

Dr. Schlesinger has also served on many government commissions and advisory groups. Recently, he served as chairman of the Secretary's Task Force on DoD Nuclear Weapons Management. He is vice chairman of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States. From 1999 to 2003, he was a member of the Panel to Assess the Reliability, Safety, and Security of the U.S. Nuclear Stockpile, and from 1998 to 2001, he was a member of the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century (Hart-Rudman Commission). He recently served as co-chair of the Defense Science Board Task Force on the Future of the Global Positioning System (GPS). He also chairs the advisory group on GPS for the PNT (positioning, navigation, and timing) Executive Committee. He was vice chairman of the President's Blue Ribbon Task Group on Nuclear Weapons Program Management (1984 –1985), and served on the President's Commission on Strategic Forces (1982–1983).

Dr. Schlesinger serves as chairman of the board of The MITRE Corporation. He is a consultant to the Departments of Defense and State, and a member of the Defense Policy Board and the International Security Advisory Board. Dr. Schlesinger is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy. He is a director for Evergreen Energy and Sandia National Corporation. He is a counselor and trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a trustee of the Atlantic Council, the Nixon Center, the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation, the Center for Global Energy Studies, and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation.

Dr. Schlesinger has been awarded eleven honorary doctorates. He is the recipient of the National Security Medal, as well as five departmental and agency medals. He is the recipient of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Distinguished Service Medal, the George Catlett Marshall Medal, the H. H. Arnold Award, the Navy League's National Meritorious Citation, the Distinguished Service Award of the Military Order of the Carabao, the Jimmy Doolittle Award, the Military Order of the World Wars Distinguished Service Award, the Henry M. Jackson Award for Distinguished Public Service, and the William Oliver Baker Award. In 2009, he received the Air Force Association's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Schlesinger is the author of The Political Economy of National Security, 1960, America at Century's End, 1989, and numerous articles.