Former secretary of defense awarded Hauenstein Fellowship Medal

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency director Robert Gates was presented with the Col. Ralph W. Hauenstein Fellowship Medal by Grand Valley President Thomas J. Haas on June 18. 

The medal is the highest honor the Hauenstein Center can convey. Secretary Gates was awarded the medal prior to his keynote lecture at the Economic Club of Grand Rapids Annual Dinner at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids.

Gates served as the secretary of defense from 2006-2011. He is the only defense secretary in American history to be asked to remain in office by a newly elected president. President Barack Obama was the eighth president Secretary Gates served.

Gates joined the CIA in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional. In 1967, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served as an intelligence officer at Whitman Air Force Base in Missouri.

Secretary Gates served as director of Central Intelligence from 1991-1993. He is the only career officer in the history of the CIA to rise from entry-level employee to director.  

He earned a doctorate in history from Georgetown University and currently serves as chancellor of the College of William & Mary, his alma mater. He served as president of Texas A&M University from 2002-2006.

The Hauenstein Fellowship Medal recognizes the extraordinary life of the center's namesake, Ralph Hauenstein, and is intended to honor distinguished individuals who exemplify the service and leadership that Grand Valley State University seeks to inspire in its students and graduates.

Previous recipients of the Col. Ralph W. Hauenstein Fellowship Medal include: President Gerald R. Ford (posthumously), Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State James A. Baker, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, Ambassador John Beyrle, President of Palau Tommy Remengesau, Admiral James M. Loy, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills.

For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/hc.