Admiral Bobby R. Inman has been appointed interim dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, Provost Steven W. Leslie has announced.
Inman succeeds James B. Steinberg, dean of the LBJ School since 2006, who has been named U.S. deputy secretary of state. Inman also became interim dean in January 2005 following the resignation of former Dean Edwin Dorn.
“President (William) Powers and I are delighted that Admiral Inman will bring his great vision and leadership experience to the deanship of the LBJ School,” Leslie said. “We are also deeply appreciative of his strong commitment to The University of Texas at Austin. He was skilled and highly effective as interim dean four years ago and we are fortunate that he will take on this leadership role once again.”
Leslie said he would soon form a search committee to find a permanent dean for the LBJ School.
“We will all miss the leadership of Dean Steinberg,” Inman said. “I will strive to maintain the momentum evident at the LBJ School while the university searches for a worthy leader to succeed him.”
Steinberg remains on the LBJ School faculty as a tenured professor on unpaid leave, Leslie said.
Inman has held the Lyndon B. Johnson Centennial Chair in National Policy at the LBJ School since August 2001. An expert on national security and international affairs, he has taught graduate seminars as an adjunct professor at the university since 1987.
Inman’s record of accomplishment includes having been a public servant, entrepreneur, community leader and educator. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and the National War College, he spent 31 years in the U.S. Navy and was the first naval intelligence officer to achieve four-star rank. Between 1974 and 1982, he served in tours as director of naval intelligence, vice-director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, director of the National Security Agency and deputy director of Central Intelligence.
After retirement from the U.S. Navy, he was chairman and chief executive officer of the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) in Austin, Texas, for four years and chairman, president and chief executive officer of Westmark Systems, Inc., a privately owned electronics industry holding company, for three years. Inman also was chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1987 through 1990.
His primary activity since 1990 has been investing in start-up technology companies as chairman and a managing partner of Gefinor Ventures. Inman is a member of the board of directors of Massey Energy Company and several privately held companies. He is a trustee of the American Assembly and the California Institute of Technology. He also is a director of the Public Agenda Foundation and is a member of the National Academy of Public Administration.
