Dr. Christopher Layne, the Robert M. Gates Chair in National Security, has been named a University Distinguished Professor by Texas A&M University. Layne and four others join a select group of sixty-four current faculty members who hold the prestigious designation. He was selected for being in the top two percent of active researchers in his field, as determined by his peers in academic institutions throughout the world.
Layne’s primary fields of interest are international relations theory, great power politics, US foreign policy, and grand strategy. Professor Layne has written two books: The Peace of Illusions: American Grand Strategy from 1940 to the Present (Cornell University Press, 2006), and (with Bradley A. Thayer) American Empire: A Debate (Routledge, 2006). His current book project, After the Fall: International Politics, U.S. Grand Strategy, and the End of the Pax Americana, is under contract with Yale University Press. He has published widely in leading peer-reviewed journals, including International Security, Security Studies, and International Studies Quarterly. He has also published in leading policy publications, including the National Interest, Foreign Policy, the Atlantic, the Financial Times, and the New York Times.
Dr. Karan L. Watson, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, noted that the University Distinguished Professors represent the highest level of faculty achievement, have a lasting impact on their fields of study, and enhance the scholarly reputation of the University and their colleges and departments. Each has been recognized as a preeminent world authority in his or her field, and has had a major impact that is widely recognized to have redirected scholarship in that field.
Layne and the other new honorees were recognized on May 1 at a reception for all distinguished professors hosted by the Texas A&M Foundation. The Foundation generously provides funding for the annual $5,000 bursary that each of the new university distinguished professors will receive for the next five years.
