Board of Directors

By law, the United States Institute of Peace is governed by a bipartisan Board of Directors. The board is composed of twelve members from outside federal service appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate, and four ex-officio members: the secretary of state (who may designate another Senate-confirmed State Department official), the secretary of defense (who may designate another Senate-confirmed Defense Department official), the president of the National Defense University (who may designate the vice president of the National Defense University), and the president of the Institute (nonvoting). The board is prohibited by law from having more than eight voting members of the same political party.

The Board of Directors actively oversees the activities of the United States Institute of Peace—setting long-term goals and priorities for the Institute as well as monitoring the Institute's financial, administrative, and personnel policies. The board approves major new program initiatives and makes final decisions in the selection of Institute grantees, fellows, and winners of the National Peace Essay Contest for high school students. To accomplish these tasks, the board meets numerous times each year in regular and special meetings.

The Institute's board meets with President Reagan during the second day of the board's inaugural meeting in 1986.

All members appointed to serve on the United States Institute of Peace's Board of Directors are required by law to "have appropriate practical or academic experience in peace and conflict resolution." They may serve no more than two four-year terms, although they may continue to serve until replaced. Many distinguished Americans from across the country have served on the board since the Institute's founding.

The chair and vice chair of the Board of Directors are elected by the board from among the twelve directors appointed from outside federal service. The chair, or the vice chair in the chair's absence, presides over all meetings of the board and serves for a term of three years. The current chair of the Board of Directors is J. Robinson West. The current vice chair is María Otero.

Past Chairs of the Board of Directors

Chester A. Crocker, 1992-2004

Elspeth Davies Rostow, 1991-1992

John Norton Moore, 1986-1991

Current Board

J. Robinson West (Chair)
Chairman
PFC Energy
Washington, D.C.

María Otero (Vice Chair)
President
ACCION International
Boston, Mass.

Betty F. Bumpers
Founder and former President
Peace Links
Washington, D.C.

Holly J. Burkhalter
Advocacy Director
Physicians for Human Rights
Washington, D.C.

Chester A. Crocker
James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies
School of Foreign Service
Georgetown University

Laurie S. Fulton
Williams and Connolly
Washington, D.C.

Charles Horner
Senior Fellow
Hudson Institute
Washington, D.C.

Stephen D. Krasner
Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations
Stanford University

Seymour Martin Lipset
Hazel Professor of Public Policy
George Mason University

Mora L. McLean
President
Africa-America Institute
New York, N.Y.

Daniel Pipes
Director
Middle East Forum
Philadelphia, Pa.

Barbara W. Snelling
Former State Senator and former Lieutenant Governor
Shelburne, Vt.

Members ex officio

Arthur E. Dewey
Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration

Michael M. Dunn
Lieutenant General, U.S. Air Force
President, National Defense University

Peter W. Rodman
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs

Richard H. Solomon
President
United States Institute of Peace (nonvoting)