Mark T. Clark is professor emeritus of political science and former director of the National Security Studies program at California State University, San Bernardino. He specializes in national security affairs, including nuclear weapons, strategy and deterrence, and theories on war. His most recent works examine the theory of war developed by Carl von Clausewitz as applied to non-state actors, including terrorist organizations, and the deterrence policies of small nuclear powers, including India, Israel, Pakistan, and, when it had them, the Republic of South Africa. He is currently working on extending this work to include Iran and North Korea.
In the Fall of 2006, Professor Clark received a multi-year grant from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to establish a California State University Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence among a consortium of seven campuses of the CSU system and in Fall 2011 received a second grant to continue the work from the Defense Intelligence Agency. In Fall 2013, Clark and a colleague received an National Science Foundation to develop new degrees in Cyber Security and Intelligence and was named a member of the Academic Advisory Board for the NATO Defense College for 2013-2015. Clark served in the U.S. Marine Corps, 1973-1977.
Dr. Robert Lloyd, Vice President
Dr. Robert Lloyd is Vice President of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) and a board member of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME). A Senior Partner at Quadrille Associates in Jupiter, Florida, he specializes in government relations, higher education, and international development. He brings over three decades of experience in education and international development across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, working closely with USAID, the U.S. State Department, the United Nations, and NGOs.
Dr. Lloyd has a deep, long-standing scholarly and policy engagement with the Middle East and Africa. He was a nonresident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council's Africa Center, a Summer Institute Fellow with the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University, and a Fulbright Scholar to India. He holds a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. He is completing a forthcoming book, The World's Worst International Negotiators: Titans of Diplomatic Malpractice.
Dr. Lloyd has held senior leadership roles in higher education. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, where he supported twenty-one member institutions through fundraising, governmental advocacy, and public engagement. Previously, he held the Loreen Beisswenger Farish Chair for Political Thought and served as Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Palm Beach Atlantic University, as well as Executive Director of the LeMieux Center for Public Policy. Earlier, he was the Blanche E. Seaver Professor of International Relations at Pepperdine University and founding chair of its International Studies and Languages Division. He is also an award-winning photographer and served as president of the Professional Photographers Association of Palm Beach.
Professor Joseph M. Skelly, Secretary/Treasurer
Joseph Morrison Skelly specializes in international terrorism, military affairs, diplomatic history, and the contemporary Middle East. His books include Political Islam from Muhammad to Ahmadinejad: Defenders, Detractors, and Definitions and Ideas Matter: Essays in Honour of Conor Cruise O'Brien. He has written academic articles for scholarly journals in the United States, Israel, and Europe. He has published essays in The Washington Times, National Review Online, United Press International, Irish Independent, and The Belfast Telegraph. He is Professor of History at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in New York City, a member of the board of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, a writing fellow with the Middle East Forum, and was as an academic fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington, DC. He served as an editorial advisor to Robert McCartney, Member of the British Parliament and leader of the UK/Unionist Party, from 2000 to 2002.
Dr. Skelly is a retired United States Army Reserve officer. He served a tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom and also conducted operations in West Africa. He is the recipient of the Bronze Star, Combat Action Badge, and the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award.