David S. C. Chu (

朱 Zhu is the pinyin romanization of five Chinese surnames: 朱, 祝, 竺, 猪 and 諸. The most prominent of the five, Zhu ( 朱), is the 17th name in the ''Hundred Family Surnames'' poem and was the surname of the Ming dynasty emperors. It ...

思九;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: Zhū Sījiǔ; born May 28, 1944) is a retired American civil servant and consultant. He was born in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on May 28, 1944. He served as the President and CEO of the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses from 2009 to 2019. From 2001 to 2008, he served as

Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness The under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, or USD (P&R) is a high-ranking civilian position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) within the United States Department of Defense responsible for advising the secretary an ...

in the

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

administration. /ref> Chu received a Bachelor of Arts Degree, magna cum laude">Bachelor_of_Arts.html" ;"title="/ref> Chu received a Bachelor of Arts">/ref> Chu received a Bachelor of Arts Degree, magna cum laude, in Economics and Mathematics from Yale University in 1964 and a PhD in Economics, also from Yale, in 1972 following a break due to military service. In 1968 he was commissioned in the United States Army and became an instructor at the U.S. Army Logistics Management Center, Fort Lee (Virginia), Fort Lee,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

. He later served a tour of duty in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, working in the Office of the Comptroller, Headquarters, 1st Logistical Command. He obtained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and completed his service with the Army in 1970. From 1978 to 1981, Chu served as the Assistant Director for National Security and International Affairs,

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manag ...

, providing advice to the Congress on the full range of national security and international economic issues. He was

Director, Program Analysis and Evaluation The Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) is a principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The postholder, as chartered under United States ...

and then

Assistant Secretary of Defense Assistant Secretary of Defense is a title used for many high-level executive positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense within the U.S. Department of Defense. The Assistant Secretary of Defense title is junior to Under Secretary of Defen ...

(Program Analysis and Evaluation) from May 1981 to January 1993. In that capacity, he advised the Secretary of Defense on the future size and structure of the armed forces, their equipment, and their preparation for crisis or conflict. From 1993 to 2001, Chu served in several senior executive positions with the

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financ ...

, including Vice President and Director of the Arroyo Center, the Army's federally funded

research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

and development center for studies and analysis, and Director of RAND's Washington Office. Chu was appointed on June 1, 2001 as

Under Secretary of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

for Personnel and Readiness. In that position, he was responsible as the senior policy advisor on

recruitment Recruitment is the overall process of identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organization. Recruitment also is the processes involved in choosing individua ...

career development Career Development or Career Development Planning refers to the process an individual may undergo to evolve their occupational status. It is the process of making decisions for long term learning, to align personal needs of physical or psychologica ...

, pay and benefits, and overseeing the state of military readiness. He left that position in 2008, and joined the Institute for Defense Analyses as President and CEO. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a recipient of its National Public Senior Award. He holds the

Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service is the highest award that is presented by the Secretary of Defense, to a private citizen, politician, non-career federal employee, or foreign national. It is presented for exception ...

with silver palm. Chu's father came from China to study at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...

, during World War II he worked for the

China News Service China News Service (CNS; ) is the second largest state news agency in China, after Xinhua News Agency. China News Service was formerly run by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, which was absorbed into the United Front Work Department of the ...

and afterwards went to work for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

. His mother's family came to America before the Revolutionary War. Chu's brother was chairman of the music department at

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline ...

and his sister is a human resources executive at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in A ...

References

External links

Institute for Defense Analyses * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chu, David S. C. 1944 births 21st-century American economists American nonprofit chief executives American politicians of Chinese descent George H. W. Bush administration personnel George W. Bush administration personnel Living people RAND Corporation people United States Army officers United States Under Secretaries of Defense Yale College alumni Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni