Robert M. Gates Initiative in American Statecraft launches at William & Mary

Inspired by the legacy of Chancellor Robert M. Gates '65, L.H.D. '98, the Robert M. Gates Global Policy Center and William & Mary are launching a signature center for foreign policy teaching and research.

The initiative reflects Gates' commitment to public service and American global leadership. (Photo by Stephen Salpukas)

Inspired by the legacy of Chancellor Robert M. Gates '65, L.H.D. '98, the Robert M. Gates Global Policy Center and William & Mary are launching a signature center for foreign policy teaching and research.

The Robert M. Gates Global Policy Center (GGPC) and William & Mary's Global Research Institute (GRI) are establishing the Robert M. Gates Initiative in American Statecraft.

The Gates Initiative in American Statecraft will create a premier hub for intergenerational learning and policy-relevant research on American strategy and U.S. non-military instruments of power - including diplomacy, science and technology, development and security assistance and geoeconomic tools. It will bring together students, faculty and leaders from across the government and the private sector to tackle the most pressing issues in U.S. foreign policy.

"By examining the lessons of the last 250 years of American engagement with the world, the Gates Initiative in American Statecraft will put the Alma Mater of the Nation front and center in ensuring that American power is used well and wisely for the next 250 years," said William & Mary President Katherine A. Rowe.

The Gates Initiative in American Statecraft is built on four pillars - academic coursework, in-depth research, residential fellowships for policy experts and the annual Gates Forums convened by Gates.

These engagements will focus on national policy and preparing a new generation of national security leaders who are equipped to navigate our complex world. The launch of this initiative coincides with William & Mary's Year of Civic Leadership, celebrating the university's enduring commitment to service, public stewardship and leadership in service of the common good.

"William & Mary is the natural home for such an important initiative," said Gates. "The university has always played a role in shaping our nation's future. As an undergraduate, I felt a deep connection to the generations of leaders educated here before me. This initiative builds on this tradition and will prepare William & Mary's next generation of great public servants."

Honoring Gates' legacy

The initiative reflects Gates' commitment to public service and American global leadership. As the secretary of defense (2006-2011), Gates was a strategic problem-solver who transcended party politics and cut through bureaucracy to strengthen the nation's security. He is the only defense secretary in American history to serve in both Republican and Democratic administrations. In 2011, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

The Gates Initiative in American Statecraft will be located in the new Gates Hall, which will open later this year on the William & Mary campus. It's the only academic building in the country named for Gates.

The Gates Initiative in American Statecraft deepens the strategic partnership among the university, GRI and the GGPC - which was founded by Gates to reimagine, restructure and strengthen America's non-military instruments of power.

Since 2022, the GGPC has worked closely with GRI each year to convene scholars and senior leaders in government and the private sector at William & Mary around one critical issue in U.S. national security. Chaired by the chancellor, previous forums have tackled U.S. security assistance, strategic communications and public diplomacy, development and humanitarian assistance and tools of economic power.

Drawing upon real-world experience and rigorous applied research, Gates Forum attendees diagnose the challenge, consider a range of possible responses and articulate a cross-partisan policy roadmap. As a natural outgrowth of the forums, the Gates Initiative in American Statecraft will continue to support these important convenings that have significant policy impact.

Building on past successes

The substance of the Gates Initiative in American Statecraft is the product of pilot programs at GRI across all four pillars. Ryan Musto, an historian of the Cold War and nuclear issues, and Eric Brown, who writes and teaches on world politics, strategy, and global trends, will co-direct the initiative. Both previously held senior research positions at GRI.

The initiative represents a flagship investment in applied research under GRI's model of research acceleration: building an idea into a sustainable center of excellence poised for impact.

"The Gates Initiative in American Statecraft is proof that GRI's seed-to-scale model works. The programs coming together as the chancellor's initiative were piloted and strengthened at GRI," said Musto. "As GRI becomes the university's research incubator and accelerator, we're thrilled that the Gates Initiative will continue to benefit from GRI's expertise in scaling applied research."

In recent years, GRI has welcomed government officials to campus to meet with students and faculty and hosted postdoctoral fellows in security and foreign policy. These programs laid the groundwork for the Gates Senior Statecraft Fellows - mid-career officials and senior policymakers - and the Gates Postdoctoral Fellows, who will focus on research advancing U.S. national security.

Likewise, in the 2025-2026 academic year, the Global Scholars Program - a year-long experiential learning curriculum - successfully introduced an American Statecraft cohort. Students traveled to India to explore the jostling of nuclear-armed Big Powers across Europe, Asia and in the Global South, and to Washington, D.C., where they learned about the policy-making process. The Global Scholars Program - a partnership of GRI, the W&M Washington Center, the Reves Center for International Studies and the Public Policy Program - will again include an American Statecraft cohort in the coming year.

As part of the Gates Initiative in American Statecraft, students will also have a range of opportunities to conduct applied research on foreign policy. The initiative will relaunch the Project on International Peace and Security, one of the country's preeminent undergraduate think tanks with a proud 15-year history at GRI. Students will also work with high-level policy planners as part of the Statecraft Simulations Group, which develops interactive exercises to help the U.S. plan for complex future geopolitical scenarios. The first of these simulations took place this spring in Washington, D.C.

With programs designed for learning and practice, students will emerge from the initiative ready for a life of service and able to make valuable contributions to organizations that shape America's place in the world and the future of U.S. foreign policy.

"Public-service minded students could have no better example to emulate than Chancellor Gates," said Brown. "The Gates Initiative in American Statecraft is dedicated to the close study of world affairs and to cultivating America's best civic and statecraft traditions."

Mary Trimble, Global Research Institute

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