Dean Shawn Wahl and the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH) are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Christopher Ford as the new director of Missouri State University’s School of Defense and Strategic Studies (DSS), located in Arlington, Virginia.

“Dr. Ford’s academic profile, extensive government experience, and expertise in defense and strategic studies make him the ideal leader to take DSS to the next level,” Wahl noted. “I am especially impressed with his foreign policy experience, diplomacy acumen and vision for the future of DSS.”

Starting immediately, Ford will work with DSS’ current director, Dr. John Rose, on the leadership transition process. Ford’s formal appointment begins on July 1, 2026.

Honored to serve

Ford said he is honored to serve as the next DSS director.

“Our graduates are what this country needs today,” he said. “I am grateful to Dean Wahl and the rest of his RCASH team for this opportunity.”

In particular, Ford recalled the legacy of DSS’ Dr. William Van Cleave, who started the program in the 1970s.

“I am honored and delighted to be carrying forward the proud legacy of national security education and scholarship pioneered by Professor William Van Cleave more than half a century ago, and built upon so successfully by Directors Keith Payne and John Rose,” he said.

“DSS has a strong tradition and a unique track record in producing national security professionals attuned to the requirements of defense and security in a challenging world,” Ford added.

About Dr. Christopher Ford

A Rhodes Scholar with degrees from Harvard (summa cum laude), Oxford and Yale, Ford has been a professor with DSS since 2023. In addition, he has been editor-in-chief of the DSS journal “Defense and Strategic Studies Online” (DASSO) since its establishment in 2024.

Outside of DSS, Ford serves as a non-resident Senior Associate in the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the American Foreign Policy Council as well as a member of the Global Security External Advisory Board for the Sandia National Laboratory.

Prolific author

In addition, Ford has authored three books. They are “China Looks at the West: Identity, Global Ambitions, and the Future of Sino-American Relations” (2015), “The Mind of Empire: China’s History and Modern Foreign Relations” (2010), and “The Admirals’ Advantage: U.S. Navy Operational Intelligence in World War II and the Cold War” (2005). He has also written numerous articles, book chapters and monographs.

In 2021-24, he was a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, and from 2021-23 he worked at the MITRE Corporation, most recently as a MITRE Fellow and the founding Director of MITRE’s Center for Strategic Competition.

Government service

Ford’s government service includes his tenure as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation from 2018-21. He also worked as acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security from 2019-21. In 2017, Ford worked as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for WMD and Counterproliferation at the U.S. National Security Council. He has also served as U.S. Special Representative for Nuclear Nonproliferation, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, a staffer on five different U.S. Senate committees, a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute, and a U.S. Navy intelligence officer.

Currently, Ford is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the American Society of International Law. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Photo courtesy Missouri State Graduate College.