Title: Leadership Transitions at the Georgetown Center for Security Studies and Security Studies Program

On July 1, 2025, the Center for Security Studies (CSS) and the Security Studies Program (SSP) will have new leadership. Dr. Daniel Byman will conclude his tenure as Director of CSS and SSP, a role he has held since fall 2022. Dr. Rebecca Patterson will assume the position of Director, and Dr. Heidi Urben will assume the role of Associate Director.

Under Dr. Byman’s leadership, CSS responded to a rapidly evolving security landscape while remaining grounded in rigorous scholarship and policy-relevant analysis. Dr. Byman will always have a home at CSS. After concluding his second tenure as CSS Director (2005-2010 and 2022-2025), Dr. Byman embarks on a well-deserved sabbatical. CSS and SSP are very grateful for his leadership.

Dr. Rebecca Patterson will now serve as Director of CSS, bringing deep experience as a scholar, practitioner, and educator. A retired U.S. Army officer, Dr. Patterson has long been a valued member of the SSP faculty and most recently served as Associate Director of CSS. Succeeding her in that role is Dr. Heidi Urben, a retired U.S. Army colonel and civil-military relations scholar and defense policy practitioner, who currently serves as SSP Director of External Education and Outreach. Dr. Byman notes, “SSP is in great hands. Professor Patterson and Professor Urben are not only amazing scholars and teachers, but they’re also impressive leaders who will ensure that SSP remains the best security studies program in the world.”

CSS welcomes Dr. Patterson and Dr. Urben to their new positions and looks forward to their continued contributions in preparing the next generation of security professionals to meet the world’s security challenges.