Dr. Genevieve Lester
Francis W. De Serio Chair of Strategic and Theater Intelligence
The De Serio Chair is a fully-funded teaching and research position at the U.S. Army War College in the Department of National Security and Strategy. The Chair provides the incumbent with opportunities to expand and exchange knowledge with students, faculty, the National Intelligence Community, and Unified Command intelligence organizations on the critical role of intelligence in the formulation of national and theater security and strategy, and to enhance public understanding of the vital contributions of strategic intelligence to national security affairs.
Dr. Genevieve Lester is the DeSerio Chair of Strategic and Theater Intelligence and
an Associate Professor at the US Army War College. Her areas of interest are international relations and security with an emphasis on intelligence. She also studies covert action and the relationship between intelligence and Special Operations. Prior to her position at the US Army War College, Dr. Lester was an assistant professor in the National Defense University’s Joint Special Operations Master of Arts program, located at Fort Bragg. Dr. Lester holds a PhD and MA in Political Science from the University of California,Berkeley, an MA in International Economics/International Law and Organizations from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, and a BA in history from Carleton College.
This Chair is funded with an endowment through the generosity of Charlotte H. Watts through the Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Foundation, in honor of her late husband, Francis W. DeSerio. Fran De Serio was a 1972 graduate of USAWC and a long-time friend of the Army War College Foundation and member of the Board of Trustees. He retired in 1987 after 34 years of federal service and passed away in 2002.
Prior to Academic Year 2016, the Chair was a part-time position. The Chair has been held by:
Mr. Anthony R. “Tony” Williams, 2008-2010; 2011-2013
Dr. William I. Rodier III, 2010-2011
Prof. Richard H. Immerman, Temple University, 2013-2016
