Historian Named Joint Chair

Bruce Gudmundsson joins Dickinson and the U.S. Army War College as the Bradley Chair in Strategic Leadership

March 2, 2010

The distinguished military historian Bruce Gudmundsson has joined Dickinson College and the U.S. Army War College as the General of the Army Omar N. Bradley Chair in Strategic Leadership.

The distinguished military historian Bruce Gudmundsson has joined Dickinson College and the U.S. Army War College as the latest recipient of the General of the Army Omar N. Bradley Chair in Strategic Leadership. Gudmundsson is widely known for his writings on tactical innovation and a wide range of other military and strategic issues.

Named for World War II hero Omar Bradley, the chair offers a visiting scholar the opportunity to explore with students and faculty the nature of leadership and how it can best and most ethically be exercised in a world transformed by globalization, technology and cultural change. The joint chair also strives to enhance the study of leadership and to encourage civilian-military dialogue. Previous chair-holders include retired United States Navy four-star Admiral Dennis Blair, who currently serves as director of national intelligence, and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist Rick Atkinson. 

The Bradley Chair also complements Dickinson’s new certificate in security studies. The college continually seeks opportunities to enhance its globally oriented, useful education in ways that are relevant to today’s environment. The security-studies certificate is a response to the need for educated professionals and citizen leaders who are able to apply the skills of analysis, “big picture” thinking and problem solving characteristic of the liberal arts to the issue of security. 

While in residence, Gudmundsson will conduct seminars at both Dickinson College and the Army War College. At Dickinson, he and his class will examine the ways small international states manage political crisis. Students will benefit from Gudmundsson’s expertise in tactical innovation--how modern armies adapt to radical changes in their operating environments―as well as his service as a major (retired) in the United States Marine Corps Reserves and his experiences teaching at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and Oxford University. He is the author of six major books and several hundred articles. Gudmundsson holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oxford in England.

Dickinson College and the U.S. Army War College enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship as neighboring institutions of higher education. Collaboration takes many forms, including guest lectures and panel presentations by faculty and visiting experts from both institutions and internship and research opportunities for Dickinson students in the War College’s Strategic Studies Institute.