As the first academic scholar appointed to the Defense Business Board, Maxwell Dean David M. Van Slyke joins a select group of business executives appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Defense to help make the Department stronger and more efficient. From February – May 2020, Van Slyke was also part of a four-person task force engaged in a comprehensive study (pdf) of the management structure of the Department of Defense.

When asked about his appointment for this Q&A, Dean Van Slyke commented, “I’m inspired to serve the public good like so many Maxwell deans before me . . .  As a professor of public administration, my goal is to educate and prepare public service leaders of the future who can manage people, programs, budgets, and data under conditions of uncertainty, complexity, and risk. My goal, and the goal of all those in and with a commitment to public service, is to develop the specialized skills and knowledge to help government run better and achieve its missions more effectively.”