Infrastructure security expert Bob Stephan joins Virginia Tech Center for Technology, Security, and Policy

9 Oct 2009

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Bob Stephan has joined the Center for Technology, Security, and Policy as an affiliate and instructor.

Stephan, an expert on national security policy and implementation, recently served as assistant secretary for Infrastructure Protection for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and is currently the managing director of Dutko Global Risk Management.

Stephan is teaching "Advanced Topics in Homeland Security: Critical Infrastructure Protection and Resiliency" in the National Capital Region this fall. The course is the first offering for students enrolled in the new graduate certificate program in Homeland Security Policy, which focuses on domestic issues of security from a policy perspective.

The program was jointly developed by the Center for Technology, Security, and Policy; the Center for Public Administration and Policy, School of Public and International Affairs, and the College of Architecture and Urban Studies.

In addition to his 24 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, Stephan has considerable experience in shaping national security policy and has supported U.S. Department of Homeland Security in various roles since its formation. As a member of the Vice President's National Preparedness Task Force, he led the post-Sept. 11, 2001, national vulnerability assessment.

Prior to joining Virginia Tech, he taught political science and national security policy at the U.S. Air Force Academy, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and the National War College.

After graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Stephan received a master's degree in International Relations from the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires, where he was an Olmstead Scholar, and later earned a master's degree in International Public Policy from the Paul. H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University.