FBI Director Appoints National Security Higher Education Advisory Board

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III today announced the creation of a National Security Higher Education Advisory Board. The board, which will consist of the presidents and chancellors of several prominent U.S. universities, is designed to foster outreach and to promote understanding between higher education and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The board will provide advice on the culture of higher education, including the traditions of openness, academic freedom, and international collaboration. The board will seek to establish lines of communication on national priorities pertaining to terrorism, counterintelligence, and homeland security. They will also assist in the development of research, degree programs, course work, internships, opportunities for graduates, and consulting opportunities for faculty relating to national security.

Graham Spanier, president of Pennsylvania State University, will chair the board. Spanier affirmed, "Higher education is one of our nation's greatest assets and it is critical that those entrusted with our national security better understand the valuable contributions our universities make to research discoveries, education of young adults, international collaboration, faculty and student exchanges, and the development of intellectual property."

The FBI is grateful that these distinguished educators and national leaders are willing to advise on how we can work together with higher education in order to fulfill our increasingly challenging missions.

Director Mueller said "As we do our work, we wish to be sensitive to university concerns about international students, visas, technology export policy, and the special culture of colleges and universities. We also want to foster exchanges between academia and the FBI in order to develop curricula which will aid in attracting the best and brightest students to careers in the law enforcement and intelligence communities. "

Spanier acknowledged, "We are mindful that higher education can play an increasingly prominent role in national priorities through our research, advanced degree programs, and educational outreach."

The board will meet collectively at least three times a year in Washington, D.C., while individual presidents will often be invited to meetings of relevant working groups in the regions of their universities. The board will begin meeting this fall.

Other members of the board include:

• William Brody, President, Johns Hopkins University

• Albert Carnesale, Chancellor, University of California, Los Angeles

• Jared Cohon, President, Carnegie Mellon University

• Marye Ann Fox, Chancellor, University of California, San Diego

• Robert Gates, President, Texas A&M University

• Gregory Geoffroy, President, Iowa State University

• Amy Gutmann, President, University of Pennsylvania

• David C. Hardesty Jr., President, West Virginia University

• Susan Hockfield, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Martin Jischke, President, Purdue University

• Bernard Machen, President, University of Florida

• James Moeser, Chancellor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

• C.D. Mote, President, University of Maryland, College Park

• John Wiley, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin, Madison

• Mark Emmert, President, University of Washington

Contact information:

For the FBI
Contact: William Carter, FBI National Press Office
Phone: 202-324-8787
Email: william.carter@ic.fbi.gov

For Graham Spanier, President, Penn State University
Contact: Tysen Kendig, Department of Public Information
Phone:814-865-7517
email: tysen@psu.edu