Students in West Virginia University’s International Studies Program will have the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of the intelligence and national security field from an experienced insider thanks to the Central Intelligence Agency’s Officer in Residence Program.

Valerie Patterson will be an officer in residence in the International Studies Program from August 2009 through May 2011. This fall, she is teaching Civil Liberties in the Time of War. In the future, she will also teach courses in Intelligence Issues through Spy Novels and National Security Law.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity for our students to learn from a senior analyst working in field,” said Joe Hagan, Barnett Professor in Political Science and director of the International Studies Program. “In the past, officers have typically chosen to serve at Ivy League institutions and the major military academies. Valerie’s decision to join the program underscores the richness of our academic offerings in international affairs, specifically in the area intelligence and national security. She is a terrific addition to our strong faculty.”

Patterson was pleased that WVU already had an active international relations program and offered courses in national security-related topics.

“I specifically wanted to be part of a program at a state university rather than a private university because I like the idea of giving something back to public education,” said Patterson. “This is an opportunity for me to broaden my experiences, and understand how the Agency is perceived on the outside. When I go back, I hope that my time here will benefit the government.”

Most recently, Patterson was the chief of the Administrative Law Division in the Office of the General Counsel at the CIA. In that capacity, from 2005 to June 2009, she managed a legal team that provided guidance on a full range of administrative law issues. Beginning as an attorney-advisor in 1990 and moving through the ranks to an associate general counsel, she concentrated on fiscal law, personnel and ethics, as well as issues related to intelligence collection and covert action within the National Clandestine Service. She also served as executive associate general counsel (a chief of staff equivalent position) from late 2003 to 2005.

From 1985 to 1990, Patterson was an intelligence analyst for the Directorate of Intelligence at the CIA. She provided political risk and leadership analysis of the South American region. In her position, she routinely briefed U.S. policy makers and served as a substantive expert at inter-agency meetings.

In addition to her work with the CIA, Patterson is an author of fiction. Her first work for teens, “The Other Side of Blue,” will be published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, in October. The book is about how 15-year-old Cyan comes to terms with the mystery of her father’s death.

Valerie Patterson graduated cum laude from Florida State University, with a double major in English and Spanish and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. At FSU, she went on to complete a master’s degree in international affairs and a JD in the College of Law. Additionally, she received an MFA in children’s literature from Hollins University.

The CIA has sponsored 119 officers from across the Agency at 65 academic institutions. Currently, there are 13 OIRs at institutions across 12 states and the District of Columbia. The objective of the program is to promote broader understanding of intelligence roles and missions, closer collaboration with the academic community and contributions to the scholarly literature on intelligence. The program is administered by CIA’s Center for the Study of Intelligence.

For more information on the International Studies Program at WVU, visit http://internationalstudies.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

rh/9/1/09

CONTACT: Rebecca Herod, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
(304) 293-7405×5251, Rebecca.Herod@mail.wvu.edu