June 2004

This month we are pleased to profile Dr. Ronald L. Tammen, the director of the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University.

Before assuming his current duties, Ron was Department Chair and Associate Dean at the National War College in Washington, D.C.  The National War College is the federal government's premier educational institution for senior State Department, Defense Department and select international officials. As Department Chair, Dr. Tammen led a 23-person political science unit that included three ambassadors and a highly regarded academic faculty with expertise in international politics, international political economy, regional studies, American politics, diplomatic history, and U.S. foreign policy.  

In a previous position, Dr. Tammen was Chief of Staff to Senator William Proxmire (D-Wis).  Proxmire served as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, the Joint Economic Committee and several Subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee.  Dr. Tammen also served as a Staff Consultant to the Arms Control and Foreign Policy Caucus headed by Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR). 

In the private sector, Dr. Tammen was managing partner of Potomac Partners, a national public relations and lobbying firm based in Washington, D.C. that represented major clients in the banking, aerospace, food, environment, and technology arenas. 

Dr. Tammen holds a BA in political science from Pacific University, a MA and Ph.D. in political science (world politics) from the University of Michigan and certificates from Reed College and the National War College.  He has lectured widely in the United States and abroad; has led official delegations to over 50 countries; and is a frequent guest analyst on radio and television.

His research interests center on world politics with an emphasis on the emergence of China as a world power.  This is the central theme of his latest book: Power Transitions: Strategies for the 21 st Century , coauthored with several other leading academics.  He is also the author of MIRV and the Arms Race and editor of The Economics of Military Spending.