Gen. Martin Dempsey named Rubenstein Fellow, to teach courses in 2016

Gen. Martin Dempsey, Graduate School '84 and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been named a 2016 Rubenstein Fellow, President Richard Brodhead announced Thursday.

As a Rubenstein Fellow, Dempsey will co-teach a class next Spring through the Sanford School of Public Policy with Peter Feaver, professor of political science and public policy, focused on U.S. civil-military relations. He will also teach a class in Fall 2016 in the Fuqua School of Business about management and leadership, in addition to speaking to several student and faculty groups during his residence at Duke in 2016.

“Gen. Dempsey has held a key leadership role at a time when American national security has grown to include every traditional challenge and many new ones as well,” Brodhead said in a press release. “Few people alive know as much about the risks of the global world and are as thoughtful about their implications. In addition, he is a natural leader whose life of service has won the highest admiration on all sides. Duke is thrilled to welcome back this distinguished alumnus, and we look forward to his contributions to our community.”

Dempsey earned his master's degree in English from Duke in 1984 after graduating from the United States Military Academy. He became the nation's highest-ranking military officer as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2011, and was the primary military adviser to the president, the secretary of defense and the National Security Council before vacating the chairmanship Thursday. He previously served as Commander of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Deputy Commander and then Acting Commander of U.S. Central Command, as well as Commanding General of the Multi-National Security Transition Command in Iraq.

In 2014, Dempsey delivered Duke's commencement address, telling the Class of 2014 "I know your resume. But what’s in your heart?”

"He is a most remarkable person. He is very knowledgeable, very thoughtful, very modest and very open," Brodhead said after Saturday's Board of Trustees meeting. "When he’s spoken on this campus, the questions he’s been willing to answer—people have typically been amazed by it. He’s not going to talk about top secrets of international state, but he has been very frank, and people are going to find that he’s a very powerful source of information."

The Rubenstein Fellows is an initiative to bring notable leaders back to the University to discuss global challenges, and was established by David Rubenstein, chair of the Board of Trustees. Current fellows include Jack Matlock, '50 and former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, and Jim Rogers, former chairman and CEO of Duke Energy.

Amrith Ramkumar contributed reporting.