Press Release - President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

•      Janine Davidson - Member, National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

•      Lieutenant General Dennis M. McCarthy, USMC (Ret) - Member, National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

•      F. Whitten Peters - Member, National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

•      Margaret C. Harrell - Member, National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

•      Hyman Bass - Member, President's Committee on the National Medal of Science

•      Carlos Castillo-Chavez - Member, President's Committee on the National Medal of Science

•      Joseph S. Francisco - Member, President's Committee on the National Medal of Science

President Obama said, "I am grateful that these impressive individuals have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people at this important time for our country. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead."

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Dr. Janine Davidson, Appointee for Member, National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

Dr. Janine Davidson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University and a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. From 2009 to 2012, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Plans. From 2006 to 2008, she was a Director in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. Dr. Davidson began her career in the United States Air Force, where she was an aircraft commander and senior pilot for the C-130 and the C-17 cargo aircraft. She received a B.S. from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina.

Lieutenant General Dennis M. McCarthy, USMC (Ret), Appointee for Member, National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

Lieutenant General Dennis M. McCarthy is a principal for The Military Experts, a consulting firm based in Columbus, Ohio. From 2009 to 2011, he served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. Previously, from 2005 to 2009, he was Executive Director of the Reserve Officers Association of the United States. Lt. Gen. McCarthy retired from the Marine Corps in 2005, completing over 40 years of active and reserve military service. He commanded eight Marine Corps or Joint organizations, including the 3rd Marine Division and overall command of the Marine Corps Reserve. He began his military service in combat in Vietnam. From 1978 to 1999, he was managing partner of his private law practice. He received a B.A. from the University of Dayton and a J.D. from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio.

F. Whitten Peters, Appointee for Member, National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

F. Whitten Peters is a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, DC. From 1999 to 2001, he served as the Secretary of the Air Force. Previously, from 1997 to 1999, he was Under Secretary and Acting Secretary of the Air Force. From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Peters was Principal Deputy General Counsel at the Department of Defense. Before his service at the Department of Defense, he practiced law at Williams & Connolly, which he joined in 1978. From 1969 to 1972, Mr. Peters served as a line officer in the U.S. Navy. He received a B.A. from Harvard University, an M.S. from the London School of Economics, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Dr. Margaret C. Harrell, Appointee for Member, National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

Dr. Margaret C. Harrell is the Director of the Army Health Program and a senior social scientist at the RAND Corporation. From July 2011 to August 2012, she served concurrently as Senior Fellow and Director of the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security. Dr. Harrell has worked with the RAND Corporation for over 20 years, focusing on manpower and personnel, military families, military quality of life, and veterans. She received a B.A. from the University of Virginia, an M.S. from The George Washington University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

Dr. Hyman Bass, Appointee for Member, President's Committee on the National Medal of Science
Dr. Hyman Bass is the Samuel Eilenberg Distinguished University Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Education at the University of Michigan. He was first appointed to the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science by President Obama in 2011, and is a 2006 recipient of the National Medal of Science. He has served as the President of the American Mathematical Society, the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction, and was Chair of the National Academy of Sciences' Mathematical Sciences Education Board. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Education, and the Third World Academy of Sciences. He won the Van Amringe Prize for his book, Algebraic K-theory, and the Cole Prize in Algebra from the American Mathematical Society. Dr. Bass received a B.A. in Mathematics from Princeton University and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Appointee for Member, President's Committee on the National Medal of Science

Dr. Carlos Castillo-Chavez is a Regents and a Joaquin Bustoz Jr. Professor at Arizona State University. President Obama first appointed him to the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science in 2010. He is the founding director of the Mathematical, Computational and Modeling Sciences Center, and is the Executive Director of the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute and The Institute for Strengthening the Understanding of Mathematics and Science. His awards include the Presidential Faculty Fellowship Award and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. Dr. Castillo-Chavez is a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is a Founding Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. He is a past member of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis Scientific Advisory Boards and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Council. Dr. Castillo-Chavez received a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Dr. Joseph S. Francisco, Appointee for Member, President's Committee on the National Medal of Science

Dr. Joseph S. Francisco is the William E. Moore Distinguished Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Chemistry at Purdue University. He was first appointed to the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science by President Obama in 2010. Dr. Francisco's laboratory focuses on basic studies in spectroscopy, kinetics, and photochemistry of novel transient species in the gas phase. He was President of the American Chemical Society in 2010, and served as President of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers from 2005 to 2007. Dr. Francisco is a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, and a fellow of the American Chemical Society, the American Physical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Francisco received a B.S. from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.