A New Face on the Dean's Team: Ambassador Gnehm Appointed Vice Dean


November 3, 2017

Ambassador Edward “Skip” Gnehm, the Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the Elliott School, is assuming a leadership position as Elliott School Vice Dean, a role formerly held by Professor Edward McCord. Dr. McCord will serve as senior advisor to Dean Brigety. Both professors are known for their distinguished service to the school and the broader university community.

Ambassador Gnehm is a two-time GW alumnus, B.A. ’66 and M.A. ’68. Prior to joining the Elliott School faculty, he had a distinguished 36-year career in the highest levels of the U.S. Foreign Service, much of it centered in the Middle East. A member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister, he served as ambassador to three nations: Kuwait, Australia, and Jordan. He is known for his extraordinary skill as a diplomat, in particular for his service as U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait from 1991 to 1994, following the Gulf War.

In recognition of his exceptional record, Ambassador Gnehm holds many national honors, among them the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award, and two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards. He was elected to the American Academy of Diplomacy in 2005.  

GW has also recognized Ambassador Gnehm’s outstanding service, culminating in 2017 with conferral of the GW President’s Medal, the university’s highest honor. As a member of the Elliott School faculty and now as vice dean, Ambassador Gnehm often credits GW with laying the foundation for his rewarding career.

“If I could do even in some small way what my professors had done for me when I was a student, then I knew I would have found that deeply meaningful place that I had been searching for,” he said when he received the GW President’s Medal. “I found it.”