Timeline
1972

Title: First full-time MSFS director appointed

Portrait of Chester A. Crocker, courtesy of the SFS Institute for the Study of Diplomacy

In 1972, Dean Peter F. Krogh appointed Dr. Chester A. Crocker as the first full-time director dedicated to the MSFS program. This marked a return to academia for Crocker, who prior to his appointment to the National Security Council by Henry Kissinger was a lecturer in African government and politics at the American University.

Under this new leadership, new co-curricular programs were introduced to the MSFS, including second-year policy-oriented workshops and final oral exams administered by practitioners in the field. MSFS’s emphasis on practical skills-oriented training was praised by the Hoya as a successful example amid a hubbub of Georgetown graduate students being underprepared for future careers after graduation.