Departure Statement from the Clements Center’s Founding Executive Director William Inboden

Departure Statement from the Clements Center’s founding Executive Director William Inboden:

After thirteen incomparable years at the University of Texas at Austin, and ten years leading the Clements Center for National Security, I have accepted a new leadership position at the University of Florida. Beginning August 1, I will be working for University of Florida President Ben Sasse as Director of the Hamilton Center for Civics and Classical Education, and will also be joining the faculty as a professor. At the Hamilton Center I will be implementing a mandate to grow the faculty ranks, expand the curriculum and programming, and build it into a college within the University of Florida.

I will depart the Clements Center and the LBJ School faculty with much affection and gratitude, and more than a little sadness. UT is a special university, and the opportunity to build and lead the Clements Center here will always rank as one of the great privileges of my life.

It would take a book to catalogue all of the people to whom I owe gratitude, but there are a few who merit a special measure of thanks. These include the three UT presidents under whom I was privileged to serve: the late Bill Powers, who first believed in the vision for the Clements Center and whose name I have been honored to bear on the director’s chair; Greg Fenves, who championed the Center during a critical phase of growth; and our current president Jay Hartzell, whose support and encouragement has been a welcome tonic. Former UT Chancellor Bill McRaven and current UT Chancellor J.B. Milliken also provided stalwart and generous support. I am forever grateful for the many UT faculty, staff, and deans who helped advance the Center’s mission — in particular my LBJ School faculty colleagues and Dean JR DeShazo. I cherish all of the students over the past decade who participated in our programs. Many of them now carry forward our work as our alumni around the world.

Finally I thank all of our board members, past and present, most especially the Clements and Seay families, particularly Nancy Seay, Pauline Neuhoff, and our board chairman George Seay. The Clements Center would not exist without their generosity, commitment, and investment.

I take heart that the good work of the Clements Center will continue, led by Associate Director Paul Edgar and our exceptional staff. President Hartzell and the Clements Center board will oversee the selection process for the next Executive Director.