To honor Ryan Crocker's service as dean at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, a scholarship endowment has been established in his honor to enable countless future students to study at the Bush School.
Those close to Ryan Crocker knew the Bush School dean had no desire for a gold watch to commemorate his upcoming retirement. Instead, during a graduation celebration in May, Arnold Vedlitz, the school’s executive associate dean, announced the creation of a gift much closer to the heart of the former U.S. ambassador: a scholarship endowment that will enable countless students to study at the Bush School of Government and Public Service.
Thanks to the Texas A&M Foundation donors who have thus far contributed to the Crocker endowment—including former President George H.W. and Barbara Bush—many future students will have the opportunity to earn master’s degrees in international affairs.
Turning out graduates who seek to bring stability and prosperity to the world is ultimately of great national benefit to the United States, Crocker explained. Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service does so by preparing graduate students for careers in either international affairs or in public service and administration.
Crocker knows firsthand about the ongoing challenges of creating and maintaining peaceful societies. Among his many diplomatic posts were stints as ambassador in Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Pakistan and Iraq. He was appointed dean of the Bush School in 2010, only to be asked by President Obama a year later to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. He returned to the Bush School in 2012. Crocker will retire in August and will be succeeded by Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, former Air Force chief of staff.
According to Crocker, more than 70 percent of Bush School graduates go into public service fields—a higher percentage than at any other major school of public service. Crocker attributes this not only to the students’ desires to make a difference, but to the fact that virtually every Bush School student receives some degree of financial aid. This desire for all students to graduate from the Bush School with little or no debt was a key point for President Bush when the school was established.
“We have committed, enthusiastic young people at the Bush School who are not thinking about the bottom line,” Crocker explained, referencing the low pay that often accompanies positions in the public service sector. “But to take on these jobs, graduates simply can’t have a crushing amount of student debt.”
When Crocker became Bush School dean, about 200 students attended the school. By last spring, that number had risen to more than 330—and it continues to go up. With increasing numbers comes a growing need for financial assistance for students and faculty alike.
President George H.W. Bush greets Ambassador to Lebanon Ryan Crocker in the Oval Office of the White House on March 13, 1991. Photo Credit: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
“Scholarships are far and away singularly important to the Bush School,” Crocker said. “We simply could not be fulfilling our mission here without a substantial scholarship fund.”
Also vital, he said, is not only providing chairs for more established faculty members, but also having endowed positions available for younger faculty superstars.
“Our ability to provide a faculty fellowship or professorship at the junior level is something other institutions can’t do,” Crocker said. “These play a critical role in our ability to not only attract the finest young scholars the country produces, but also to retain them.”
Next year, the Bush School celebrates its 20th anniversary. Crocker said that as he prepares to leave the school, he’d like to think that he contributed to its coming-of-age. He’s especially proud of the hundreds of Bush School graduates who are serving in all levels of government, working abroad with nonprofit groups, seeking to help the less fortunate here in Texas or taking the idea that government is meant to serve the people—and not the other way around—back to their home countries.
Crocker stressed the importance of donor support of the Bush School by quoting a letter that former President John Adams wrote to his son, Thomas: “‘Public business must always be done by somebody. If wise men decline it, others will not. If honest men refuse it, others will not.’ We at the Bush School strive to produce these honest men and women for America’s future.”
By Kara Bounds Socol
Texas A&M Foundation
The Texas A&M Foundation is a nonprofit organization that solicits and manages investments in academics and leadership programs to enhance Texas A&M’s capability to be among the best universities.
