Omar Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership, Dickinson College, Penn State School of Law and School of International Affairs, and Army War College

Program:
Aspen Homeland Security Group

Biography

Philip J. (P. J.) Crowley is the 2011-2012 Omar Bradley Chair in Strategic Leadership. The chair is a joint effort among the United States Army War College, Dickinson College, and Penn State Law to advance the study of strategic leadership and enhance civilian-military dialogue by offering distinguished individuals the opportunity to contribute to the educational and research activities of the three institutions.

President Barack Obama nominated, and the United States Senate confirmed Crowley to be Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State in 2009. Previously, he served as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director of Public Affairs for the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration. Crowley was a twenty-six year veteran of the United States Air Force, including tours in Turkey, Germany, and the United States Air Force Academy. He participated in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Provide Comfort, the Kurdish relief effort following the war. During the Kosovo conflict, he worked under Javier Solana, Secretary General of NATO, helping to develop a strategic communication capability to sustan public support for the NATO campaign. He retired from the Air Force in 1999 as a colonel.

Prior to joining the Department of State, Crowley was a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, with a particular policy focus on homeland security and combating terrorism in ways that are consistent with American interests, values, and the rule of law.

Crowley’s research and teaching interests focus on national security policy, public diplomacy, and the impact of the global media environment on conflict, policy, and politics. His appointment also enables him to teach at Penn State's School of International Affairs as well as Dickinson College and the U.S. Army War College. Crowley and his spouse, Paula E. Kougeas, also a retired Air Force colonel and now a teacher, live in Alexandria, Virginia when not in Carlisle.

Crowley frequently appears on major media outlets and is a contributor to Al Jazeera English, the BBC, and The Daily Beast. He is a member of the Aspen Homeland Security Group.