Blount Chair Campaign Receives $100,000 Boost from Houston Event

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Efforts to enhance national security and policy studies in the International Development Ph.D. program at The University of Southern Mississippi recently got a $100,000 boost thanks to a fundraising event in Houston, Texas.

The funds will support the Major General Buford “Buff” Blount Endowed Chair in International Security and Global Policy.

The event was a collaborative effort between The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation and oil industry executive and Southern Miss alumnus Daniel F. McNease. Gen. Blount was featured speaker for the event that drew more than 200 people, many of whom are affiliated with the Houston area oil industry.

The Southern Miss chair is the first such position to be held by a modern-day combat commander who has overseen a war-to-peace transition in the post-9/11 world. The endowment will broaden an already strong curriculum in the International Development Ph.D. Program, one of three such academic programs in the United States. As the inaugural chair holder, Gen. Blount will focus on leadership and training in the area of peace-building and post-conflict resolution.

“My vision for this program is to bring groups of people together and give them the proper guidance and training to enable them to lead others from a state of chaos to a state of order, with peace as the ultimate goal,” said Gen. Blount, who was once dubbed the “Mayor of Baghdad” for his efforts in that city.

“This could be after a military operation or natural disaster such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” he said. “As I was watching the events unfold from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, I very quickly flashed back to Baghdad and saw many of the same issues. They had all the same challenges: the breakdown of civil order, the lack of power and food, and the need for a well-trained, well-organized agency to come in and take charge.”

A native of Mississippi, Gen. Blount is assisting the fundraising drive to raise money for the chair, a majority of which will be used for faculty salaries and student scholarships. He will also serve as a lecturer.

McNease is chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of The Rowan Companies Inc. of Houston, also is a graduate of the Columbia University Executive program. Major sponsors for the Houston event also included Rowan Companies, Inc., of Houston; Bisso Marine Company, Inc., of New Orleans, and S&N Pump Company of Houston.