Robert Gates

Denison University’s Lugar Symposium welcomes Robert Gates, the 22nd secretary of defense. Gates is the only secretary of defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in that office by a newly elected president. President Barack Obama is the eighth president Gates has served, continuing the service he began under President George W. Bush. President Obama awarded Gates the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. “Robert Gates’ record of public service and bipartisan engagement in foreign policy exemplifies the values of the Lugar Program, and provides a role model for our students as they contemplate their post-Denison futures,” said Andrew Katz, associate professor of political science. “The Lugar Program in Politics and Public Policy is delighted to welcome Dr. Gates to campus.” Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has three times received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received the CIA’s highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal. He has authored two memoirs; “Duty, Memoirs of a Secretary at War,” a straightforward, vividly written account of his experience serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and “From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider’s Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War,” which details his career as a CIA officer at the center of power during a time when the threat of global annihilation informed America’s every move.